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NEMSQA 2024: Dr. Jeff Jarvis on airway safety and the path to EMS improvement

In a deep dive into NEMSQA鈥檚 2024 report, Dr. Jarvis discusses critical airway safety measures and how EMS providers can leverage data, protocols and collaboration to achieve safer, more effective care

Dr Jeff Jarvis joins Rob Lawrence to discuss the recently released National EMS Quality Alliance (NEMSQA) Measures Report 鈥淓nhancing airway management one measure at a time.鈥

The report begins with the following robust Foreword: 鈥淣EMSQA is not satisfied with the state of airway management safety in EMS. As you will see, the data clearly shows that we can do much better across our industry!

Partnering with experts and EMS agencies around the country, NEMSQA is leading the second national EMS Quality Improvement Partnership (EQuIP), the Airway Management Collaborative to put the new NEMSQA airway measures to work.鈥

鈥淓nhancing airway management one measure at a time鈥 is the sequel to the Lights and Siren Collaborative and will utilize the . The goal of the project is to support national improvement in the safety and effectiveness of invasive airway management by focusing on two goals:

  1. Reducing the adverse events, such as peri-intubation hypoxia and hypotension
  2. Improving the use of waveform capnography to confirm and monitor all invasive airways

Rob and Dr. Jarvis discuss the report and actions individuals and their agencies should take to improve their personal and organizational airway management and patient outcome results.

Resources

Notable quotes

鈥淚 know this is going to be revolutionary to you 鈥 but in order to measure pulse oximetry, the pulse ox probe needs to be on the patient! And in EMS, we very frequently dislodge those things, they fall off, and when they are on the stretcher you are not getting valid data.鈥 鈥 Dr. Jeff Jarvis

鈥淭he biggest enemy of better is the desire for perfection.鈥 鈥 Dr. Jeff Jarvis

鈥淲e all think we are the best 鈥榠ntubator鈥 until we look at our data 鈥 none of us showed up for work this morning because we didn鈥檛 want to do a good job. All of us want to do the best we can for our patients; when we see the data, all of us want to improve.鈥 鈥 Dr. Jeff Jarvis

Timeline

00:45 Dr. Jeff Jarvis introduces the NEMSQA Report

2:00 鈥 The Core foundations of improvement science

03:00 鈥 NEMSIS data as the basis of research

06:00 鈥 Airway 01

08:15 鈥 Airway 05

09:50 鈥 Airway 20

12:30 鈥 Respiratory 01

13:32 鈥 Respiratory 02

14:00 鈥 Airway 24

17:00 鈥 Key learning points and discussion on first pass success and documentation

20:00 鈥 Getting the basics right

21:30 鈥 Key Take Away 1: Work with your data

23:30 鈥 Key Take Away 2: Better prepare your patient (position, adquately pre-oxygeneate)

25:30 鈥 Key Take Away 3: Have a protocol or checklist in a goal

26:00 鈥 Key Take Away 4: Transparency in your performance 鈥 share the performance of your organization with the clinicians doing the interventions

26:30 鈥 Key Take Away 5: Utilize best practices 鈥 Such as the NEMSQA airway quality improvement collaborative

28:03 鈥 Calling out the NEMSQA team and researchers

29.30 鈥 Final thoughts


Lessons and goals for advancing airway care from the NEMSQA Airway Measures Report

ABOUT DR. JARVIS
Dr. Jeff Jarvis is the chief medical officer and system medical director for the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the host of The EMS Lighthouse Project Podcast in which he reviews the scientific evidence that guides our EMS practice. Dr. Jarvis began his career in EMS over 30 years ago and remains a licensed paramedic today. His research interests include airway management and clinical performance measures. He is a proud father to two wonderful kids, husband of 33 years and a loyal Aggie.

ABOUT NEMSQA
The is the nation鈥檚 leader in the development and endorsement of evidence-based quality measures for EMS. Formed in 2019, NEMSQA is an independent non-profit organization comprised of stakeholders from national EMS organizations, federal agencies, EMS system leaders and providers, EMS quality improvement and data experts as well as those who support prehospital care with the goal to improve EMS systems of care, patient outcomes, provider safety and well-being on a national level.

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK鈥檚 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association鈥檚 State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for SA国际传媒 and is a member of the SA国际传媒 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.