Ambulance times are internationally recognized Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for prehospital care. International benchmarking by comparing ambulance times between countries is a valuable method to help to identify strengths and weaknesses across healthcare systems. However, ambulance times are not standardized across or sometimes even within countries. Thus, this benchmarking study aims to compare terminology and definitions of ambulance times from the ambulance services of a range of countries to facilitate international benchmarking.

A 23-point questionnaire was developed and pilot-tested on members of international emergency care organizations. The final questionnaire was administered to domestic and international Ambulance Services, who use the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, asking for the terminology and definitions for times from “call received” to “arrival at hospital”. This included “clock start” and “clock stop” times. We asked for the ambulance terms and related variable names in the computer aided dispatch/reporting system. We engaged with clinical stakeholders and Patient and Public Involvement Contributors throughout the process.

We gathered information from 10 international ambulance services, representing nine countries, and three continents. Some services in the United Kingdom have standardized ambulance times terminology and definitions. However, in the majority of cases terminology differed greatly between countries, and at times within countries and between reports. Definitions of ambulance times varied between countries and regions, with some having different clock start and stop times and others not collecting data on the same time periods.

The current level of variation in international ambulance times terminology and definitions poses a challenge for international benchmarking and research. International consensus or harmonization of language and definitions would result in more efficient and accurate global comparison. On a smaller scale, defining terms in publications and reports would begin facilitating this process.