Introduction
Community paramedicine programs have been introduced in many countries worldwide to respond to emergency healthcare needs. Paramedics collaborate with other healthcare partners to make healthcare accessible to people in home settings. In Ireland, the statutory emergency medical services EMS) are provided by the Health Services executive through the Dublin Fire Brigade and National Ambulance Service (NAS) (PHECC, 2020, p.1). The paramedics and advanced paramedic practitioners providing emergency medical services in Ireland are registered by the Pre-hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC). The number of registered paramedic practitioners in the country has grown recently, and by the end of 2021, there were approximately 700 advanced paramedics and 2426 paramedics. These paramedics respond to approximately 320,000 cases every year (Barry et al., 2022). The field of paramedicine is poorly researched, a factor that may delay improvements to improve healthcare delivery and, consequently, patient outcomes. The inclusion criteria included that all sources and about paramedicine must be five years or less old. Additionally, all had to be peer-reviewed. Any article published earlier than 2018 and not peer-reviewed was excluded. The next section will review the literature on the impact of community paramedicine programs from seven sources. The review would include a synopsis of the findings in the articles, describe their advantages and shortcomings, evaluate the contribution to the topic of study, and finally discuss and contrast opinions.
Impact of Community Paramedicine Programs in Healthcare Delivery
A study by Rasku et al. (2019, pp.508-521) sought to determine the components of community paramedicines. They found community paramedicine to play a crucial role in illness prevention, health promotion, provision of ambulance service, and increasing the community’s capacity to respond to emergency cases. The authors also noted that approximately more than half of the paramedic services operate in rural areas, while only a small percentage operate in rural areas. The authors also found paramedicine to promote patients’ sense of empowerment, security, and trust. Paramedic services were also associated with improved access to primary care and reduced hospital visits.
The findings of a study conducted by Rasku et al. (2019, pp.508-521) have advantages and shortcomings. Among the advantages is that it was a systematic review of 21 studies conducted in different settings, providing broad knowledge regarding the impacts of community paramedicine in healthcare delivery. However, being a systematic review had a shortcoming associated with an increased risk of transferring errors from the original studies.
The findings of the study conducted by Rasku et al. (2019) are important in the context of the topic of community paramedicine because it provided vital insights regarding the role it plays in promoting the health of the community. The author provides a contradicting opinion towards the end of the paper when they indicate that the area of community paramedicine is not well researched, leading to a shortage of information on the topic. However, this does not compromise the credibility of the findings in the article because it was based on original studies.
Eaton et al. (2021, pp. 1-14) conducted a realist review to determine how paramedics impact the primary care workforce. The authors found paramedics crucial in making primary care available in areas where it would otherwise unavailable. Paramedics also play a vital role in ensuring timely care, especially in rural areas. The authors also presented evidence showing that the patients preferred paramedics due to their long consultation period compared to the general practitioners. Long consultation periods provided patients with enough time to explain their problems to the practitioner. Paramedics were found to be useful in providing primary care services because they have the capability to deal with a wide range of health issues.
Among the strengths of the findings in the study conducted by Eaton et al. (2021) is that it was a review based on 201 articles. A large number of reviewed sources means that the information provided is based on extensive research in the field of paramedicine. However, many sources reviewed were not original studies but opinions, evaluations, and case studies (Eaton et al., 2021, p.9). Research articles not based on the original study are prone to subjectivity. Another shortcoming of the source is that the risk of transferring errors and research bias was high, a factor that may compromise the credibility of the findings.
The study by Eaton et al. (2021, pp. 1-14) contributes to the impact of community paramedicine on healthcare delivery and patient outcomes because it explains how paramedics relate with general practitioners. It provides vital insights into how healthcare delivery can be made seamless by providing an environment where general practitioners share roles with paramedics. However, this can be considered a contradicting opinion because general practitioners and paramedics have different scopes of work.
The impact of paramedics on healthcare delivery is impacted by the environment in which they operate. According to the findings of the review conducted by Reed et al. (2019, pp.1-10), to determine the literature on paramedicine’s professionalisation and professionalism, working in urban and rural areas impacts healthcare delivery and patients’ outcomes differently. The authors found that paramedics working in urban areas have shorter transport times, on-scene times, response times, and pre-hospital times compared to those working in rural areas (Reed et al., 2019, p.6). The same was translated into higher survival rates among cardiac arrest patients in urban areas compared to rural areas.
Among the strengths of the study in the article is that it explored broad research. The review was based on 53 papers (Reed et al. 2019, p.5). The review was done by many authors, an aspect that could have reduced the risk of researcher bias. However, being a review meant that the risk of transferring errors was imminent. Despite its shortcomings, the article provides vital information that gives a clear picture of the nature of paramedicine and the factors that influence its effectiveness in healthcare service delivery.
The review’s findings contribute to the topic of the impact of community paramedicine on healthcare delivery and patient outcomes because it shows how different setups influence the outcomes. The findings can inform healthcare policymakers on what must be done to improve access to emergency services in rural areas.
Reference List
Barry, T., Batt, A., Agarwal, G., Booker, M., Casey, M. and McCombe, G., 2022. Potential for Paramedic roles in Irish General Practice: A qualitative study of stakeholder’s perspectives. HRB Open Research, 5.
Eaton, G., Wong, G., Tierney, S., Roberts, N., Williams, V., & Mahtani, K. R. 2021. Understanding the role of the paramedic in primary care: a realist review. BMC Medicine, 19, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-021-02019-z
Pre-hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) (2020). The introduction of Community Paramedicine into Ireland. Accessed on March 31, from,
https://www.phecit.ie/Custom/BSIDocumentSelector/Pages/DocumentViewer.aspx?id=oGsVrspmiT0dOhDFFXZvIz0q5GYO7igwzB6buxHEgeDKMmmW%252fnE3lbsxRkYxd6aQYk7snfcymr0EG16DvMZvqmNsz5SqfTY2bCjDsrkmvfchr0f6fWdxsRfEpP0eHF2WFYnnA1HA6sq8buhbiuE7hUxFSMEFO%252btRyWB31RTiP1quSbFCsa%252bZGt6Ri4g1h1nnWZcXksZCSqw%253d
Rasku T, Kaunonen M, Thyer E, Paavilainen E, Joronen K .2019. The core components of Community Paramedicine – integrated care in a primary care setting: a scoping review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 33 (3):, pp.508-521. doi:10.1111/scs.12659
Reed, B., Cowin, L., O’Meara, P. and Wilson, I., 2019. Professionalism and professionalisation in the discipline of paramedicine. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, 16, pp.1-10.
write