Measure Type:

Emergency medical services health status outcome

Measure:

Percentage of persons who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who survive.

Numerator:

Number of people discharged from hospitals following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Denominator:

All cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Rationale for Measures:

Cardiac arrests are a leading cause of death. Promptly provided emergency medical services can increase the likelihood of survival.

Limitations of Measure:

The rate of cardiac arrest survival of a state's population can be affected by many factors, including the average age of its population, the percentage of its elderly population living in rural areas, and the quality of care provided by its hospitals' emergency medical rooms. None of these factors is within the control of a local or regional emergency medical services system.

Use of Measure:

This outcome measure should be used in conjunction with relevant process and capacity measures in order to gain a sense of whether the actions taken by EMS providers are having the desired impact.

Data Resources:

State EMS data systems.

Limitations of Data:

EMS data systems may vary significantly across states, making interstate comparisons problematic.