New EMS Near-Miss and LODD Notification System Launched

March 14, 2012

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has joined the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and the Center for Leadership, Innovation, and Research in EMS as a site partner for the new EMS Volunteer Event Notification Tool (E.V.E.N.T.). This anonymous reporting system allows EMS practitioners to report near-miss and line-of-duty death (LODD) incidents by answering a series of questions in an online format.

E.V.E.N.T. is designed to improve the safety, quality, and consistent delivery of EMS. The purpose of the system is to collect and aggregate data that will then be analyzed and used in the development of EMS policies and procedures, and for use in training, educating, and preventing similar events from occurring in the future. No individual responses will be shared or transmitted to other parties.

“The NVFC is pleased to be an E.V.E.N.T. site partner,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The important data collection and aggregation tools will give policy makers and practitioners the information they need to make informed decisions and improve operational safety. I encourage all NVFC members to make use of this online reporting system.”

The aggregated data collected will be provided to state EMS offices and the appropriate federal agencies with jurisdiction over EMS on a quarterly and annual basis. Timely aggregated reports submitted through a variety of venues will make E.V.E.N.T. a living mechanism for change.

According to Gary Wingrove of the Center for Leadership, Innovation, and Research, the E.V.E.N.T. system provides “an opportunity for the EMS community to collectively learn about how and why the things we do, or the tools we work with, sometimes end with bad outcome. We can use E.V.E.N.T. to aggregate data from the U.S. and Canada to spot trends, discover practices that are safe or risky, and periodically provide analysis back to the EMS community.”

“Since EMS first began, data collection has not been our strong suit,” said Don Lundy, NAEMT President-Elect. “This project will allow us to start collecting information which will help reduce injuries and possibly save lives of those of us in the profession. We have no idea how many ‘near-misses’ are not recorded and, later on, become a ‘hit’ – creating a devastating injury.”

Learn more and access the E.V.E.N.T. tools at http://event.clirems.org.