The NPSTC National EMS Communications Working Group is sponsored by NPSTC and is the primary national EMS communications technical development initiative (an ongoing process).

This NPSTC EMS Committee will be examining the role of technology in the EMS field.  EMS agencies are especially interested in how the new Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) being constructed by FirstNet will be used.  The NPSTC EMS Committee will be developing case studies and creating recommendations on how new technology and applications can improve pre-hospital care.

The availability of a dedicated high-speed data network for EMS opens up new opportunities that do not exist today.  Some examples may include:

EMS vehicle video stream providing situational awareness of an incident scene

EMS worker video consultation with a physician

Consolidated automatic vehicle location (AVL) data to provide EMS with a view of all units responding or on the scene of an incident

Consolidated automatic personal location data, which will pinpoint the location of EMS personnel when they are outside of their vehicle

Ability to send 12 lead ECG's and other biomedical telemetry to the hospital on a dedicated network

Ability to use radio enabled MCI tags or devices, which will collect and display information on patients at the scene of a large incident

Ability to integrate access to patient care records and to share data between EMS, physicians, and hospitals in real time

Ability to view GIS data and updated maps when traveling into unfamiliar areas

Ability to access remote databases for information needed at the scene

The EMS Committee holds a bi-weekly or monthly conference call.  The calls last an hour and are designed to leverage the "brain power" of the participants. Support staff assists the Committee by taking meeting Minutes, distributing information, and conducting research.