Emergency medical services

Emergency medical services are organized systems that provide urgent medical assessment, treatment, and transport, often beginning at the scene of an illness or injury.

Emergency medical dispatch: The process of receiving emergency calls, assessing urgency, and sending appropriate responders. Call-takers determine the response and can guide callers through immediate care.
Prehospital care: Medical care delivered before a patient reaches a hospital. Emergency medical services are a principal organized provider of care before hospital arrival.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Emergency chest compressions and, when appropriate, rescue breaths used to support circulation and breathing. EMS crews provide resuscitation and coordinate defibrillation for cardiac arrest.
Urgent care center: An outpatient clinic that treats conditions needing prompt attention but not usually hospital emergency care. Unlike EMS, urgent care generally depends on patients reaching a fixed clinic themselves.
Emergency medical technician: A trained prehospital care provider who assesses patients and delivers basic emergency treatment. Technicians commonly provide initial assessment and care at the scene.
Emergency medical responder: A trained first responder who provides immediate, limited emergency care before or alongside EMS clinicians. Responders may reach a patient before an ambulance crew arrives.
Automated external defibrillator: A portable device that analyzes heart rhythm and can deliver a shock for certain cardiac arrests. Early defibrillation can begin before an ambulance reaches the scene.
Emergency department: A hospital unit that evaluates and treats acute illness and injury. EMS provides the response and transport; the emergency department supplies hospital-based evaluation.
Paramedic: An advanced prehospital clinician trained to provide emergency assessment and treatment. Paramedics can deliver interventions beyond those typically available to basic-level responders.
Basic life support: A level of emergency care centered on fundamental interventions such as CPR and airway support. It describes a common scope of ambulance care and responder capability.

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