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Foundations · Chapter 2 Not started
Emergency Medical Care Systems
How EMS is organized, provider levels, medical direction, and how patrols hand patients into the system.
Key points
- EMS is a coordinated chain: recognition, activation, first response, transport, and hospital care — OEC technicians are often the first trained link.
- Nationally recognized prehospital levels include EMR, EMT, AEMT, and Paramedic; OEC is a specialized first-responder-level credential for outdoor settings.
- Medical direction may be online (real-time contact with a physician) or offline (standing orders and written protocols).
- A clean transfer of care requires a verbal report and documentation to a provider of equal or higher training — leaving before that can constitute abandonment.
- Know your local system: which agency transports, how ALS intercepts work, and where helicopter landing zones are established.
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