Media Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2008
Contact: Scott Walquist, KPS|3, 775-686-2116, scott@kps3.com

AAA LAUNCHES UNIQUE ONLINE RESOURCE

McLean, Va.- The American Ambulance Association (AAA) has released its premier online subscription resource program to assist ambulance service providers and the entities that evaluate and contract for ambulance services in part of its initiative to “raise the bar” for quality, performance, accountability and cost effectiveness of EMS (emergency medical services) throughout the country. Named “EMS Structured for Quality: Best Practices in Designing, Managing and Contracting for Emergency Ambulance Service,” the online program is the first of its kind.

“This program benefits communities in so many ways,” said Jim Buell, director of special projects for AAA. “Entities such as local governments that contract for ambulance service will be able to use the resource to build in greater accountability for its ambulance providers and determine, design and negotiate the best situation for its citizens and taxpayers. The ambulance provider can use the subscription program to validate and constantly improve the quality of its performance and accountability, find assistance with preparing a bid for services, as well as price its services in a complex world of Medicare and private reimbursement.”

The user-friendly subscription program will include an online tool kit that provides resources considered to be the industry’s best practices on how to achieve the balance between quality and cost factors. The tool kit will contain helpful materials including an electronic searchable, downloadable and printable version of the guidebook, the keystone of the program. As the guiding principle document, the guidebook can be used as a tool for contracting agencies to use to evaluate and contract for emergency ambulance service in their community, and a tool for ambulance providers to use to evaluate their service’s quality patient care.

“EMS Structured for Quality” also includes: a downloadable interactive financial modeling program used to determine rates and fees given various cost and reimbursement scenarios; Quick Start Guides on how to get started quickly in using components within the tool kit; a sample media release subscribers can use when informing local communities that they have subscribed and committed to even greater quality, response, performance, accountability and efficiency; access to webinars, technical support staff and other educational opportunities provided by the AAA that support the users of this program; and frequent updates with new materials, resources and tools on an ongoing basis.

The subscription program was designed to be a tool for government contracting agencies to use to evaluate and contract for emergency ambulance service in their community, and a tool for ambulance providers to use to showcase their service’s quality patient care through four essential performance results including:
• Clinical Excellence
• Response-Time Reliability
• Economic Efficiency
• Customer Satisfaction

“In the next five to 10 years there will be large challenges and threats to both contractors for ambulance services and to ambulance providers, so it will be critical for both to be on the same page in the best interests of the community they serve,” said Buell “Some of these issues include the baby boomers aging and needing additional EMS services, population growth increasing the need for EMS services, and budget issues impacting service providers with labor and health coverage costs for employees and technology improvement costs. If proper steps are not taken, ambulance services will become sub-par and cost contractors additional monies or cause great liability. This subscription program will help contractors and providers better prepare to achieve success during these challenges.”

Last published in 2004 as the “Community Guide to Ensure High-Performance Emergency Ambulance Service,” the revamped and enhanced program now includes the guidebook itself, which is electronically searchable and readily downloadable. It has been updated to include new references, a chapter designed for rural or smaller ambulance services, and extensive third party validation information from organizations such as the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, Institutes of Medicine, American Heart Association for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Government Accountability Office.

The two-year subscription service is $89 for AAA members for the first year and $39 for the second year. The subscription is $169 for non-members for the two-year subscription. “EMS Structured for Quality” will allow subscribers to purchase a full-color hard cover version of the guidebook for an additional $89 fee.

For additional information regarding the subscription program, visit EmergencyAmbulanceQuality.org, or call 1-800-523-4447.

About AAA
Founded in 1979, the American Ambulance Association (AAA) is the national trade association representing ambulance services that provide EMT and paramedic-level emergency medical care and transfer of patients between health care facilities. AAA was designed to promote health care policies that ensure excellence in the ambulance services industry and provide research, education and communications programs to enable its members to effectively address the needs of the communities they serve. AAA represents ambulance services across the United States that participate in serving more than 75 percent of the U.S. population with emergency and nonemergency care and medical transportation services. The AAA was formed in response to the need for improvements in medical transportation and emergency medical services. AAA views pre-hospital care not only as a public service, but also as an essential part of the total public health care system.