Due to an aging population, shortage of healthcare staff, and escalating healthcare costs, there has been a recent shift in the professional roles and responsibilities in acute care settings to help bridge the care gap. Paramedics, whose primary responsibilities have been in emergency/transportation services, are increasingly involved in the management of chronic diseases in the community setting. However, even with additional training, there are concerns about the safety and effectiveness of this expanded role. The objective of this presentation is to highlight some of the key findings from a health technology assessment report on the safety and effectiveness of community paramedicine in assessing and managing conditions/diseases with low acuity.

A systematic review was conducted to identify studies that evaluated the safety and effectiveness of different community paramedicine programs.

Four systematic reviews and 20 primary studies (one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and 19 observational studies) were identified. Of these, two systematic reviews and 14 primary studies focused on the safety and effectiveness of Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) programs ̶ widely implemented programs whereby a paramedic or nurse undertakes activities traditionally performed by physicians, such as the initial assessment of patients, provision of simple treatment, or referral of patients to other clinical care. Limited evidence showed that ECP programs are promising in reducing repeated emergency calls, emergency department visits, hospital admissions/readmissions, and emergency transport charges. While the majority of included studies did not report any safety outcomes, no significant safety issues were identified from the cluster RCT. Evidence for other types of community paramedicine is limited.

Evaluation of the impact of community paramedicine programs remains methodologically challenging. Additional cluster RCTs may help determine the effectiveness of community paramedicine programs; safety outcomes should be a key element of future observational studies.