Pre-hospital medical emergencies services activity over 10 years in an urban setting, in Greece

Prehospital emergency medical services (PEMS) are becoming more and more sophisticated as more point-of?care advanced medical technology is available in the field. Yet, the literature around the subject is limited, as data come mainly from Northern Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand. The aim of this analysiswas to describe time trends of PEMS activity in a region of northern Greece.Use of data retrospectively collected for PEMS usage, in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece from 2006 to 2015. The area of interest represents a little more than 10% of the total population of Greece.Total utilization of PEMS shows an overall l4.03% decrease over the decade; yet with an increase in the 2 last years.The mean rate of use was 69/1000 inhabitants for ambulance services and 1.5/1000 for medical interventions (MICU). Cases where the patient cancelled the request for PEMS intervention just before or after arrival of EMS team on the spot and cases where the patient refused transportation to hospital, despite EMS recommendation decreased steadily till 2013 and then increased for the last 2 years. PEMS utilization in car accidents incidents is also declining. On the contrary PEMS engagement in acute ethanol intoxication cases rose significantly. The same is true also about the obstetrical related cases during the years 2013-2015.Identifying and understanding the factors behind PEMS use are essential for the organization of emergency health services in the near future. In the present study, the results can be explained either by social, financial or even administrative changes that took place over the years. However, more comprehensive analysis of a continuously recording data system needs to be considered in order to define specific needs in the dynamic environment of prehospital emergency medicine.