NCJ Number
66521
Date Published
1980
Length
147 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY APPLIES FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTER SIMULATION TECHNIQUES TO THE PLANNING AND EVALUATION OF AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) SYSTEM AND IN PARTICULAR, TO A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM.
Abstract
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO CONCEPTUALIZE, STRUCTURE, AND DEMONSTRATE AN EMS SIMULATION MODEL WHICH COULD EVALUATE THE FOLLOWING SUBPROBLEMS: (1) TIME DELAYS IN GAINING ACCESS TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESOURCES, (2) TIME DELAYS IN DISPATCHING APPROPRIATE MEDICAL RESOURCES TO THE EMERGENCY SCENE, AND (3) TIME DELAYS BEFORE THE APPROPRIATE MEDICAL RESOURCES START ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT OR SOME OTHER LEVEL OF EMERGENCY CARE. THE STUDY IS DESIGNED TO HELP TELECOMMUNICATION MANAGERS AND PLANNERS BY PROVIDING ANALYTICAL, SIMULATION, AND MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES. THE TIME VARIABLE IS EXAMINED BY DIVIDING THE EMS SYSTEM FUNCTIONS INTO NINE MAJOR PROCESSES. USING FLOWCHARTS, THE MODEL FACTORS THESE PROCESSES INTO SUBPROCESSES FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. IN THE ANALYSIS, EACH SUBPROCESS IS ASSIGNED A NUMERICAL VALUE THAT IS LATER USED IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION OF THE SYSTEM. THE PROCESSES RANGE FROM EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVEN TO OCCURRENCE AND DETECTION, TO CITIZEN EMERGENCY ACCESS PROCESS, AND TO EMERGENCY ANSWERING AND DISPATCH AND BASIC AND ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT PROCESSES. THE MODEL EMPLOYS THE GENERAL PURPOSE SIMULATIONS SYSTEM COMPUTER LANGUAGE. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SIMULATION DETAILS THE SIMULATION LANGUAGE, THE PROGRAMMING OF THE MODEL, THE MODEL ANALYSIS AND DATA COLLECTION FOR EACH OF THE PROCESSES, AND AN ANALYSIS OF THE EMS TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM, INCLUDING MODEL VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION. ALSO PROVIDED ARE FLOWCHARTS TABLES, GRAPHS, AND AN EXTENDED COMPUTER LISTING THAT ALLOWS THE USER TO RECONSTRUCT THE SIMULATION DATA. IN ADDITION, A CROSS-REFERENCE MATRIX RELATES THE MODEL SUBPROCESSES TO RELEVANT BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES. OVER 100 REFERENCES ARE SUPPLIED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)