Organizational models of prehospital care: experiences from Austria

When comparing the well-established model of functional-organization structures with the model of process-orientated organization structures, problems are perceived in the efficient coordination of all system partners in the prehospital emergency medical system (EMS). A lack of communication, documentation and feedback, a large number of unnecessary emergency missions, undue workload and costs in some areas of the system negatively effect motivation, efficient teamwork and satisfaction of staff and patients. Therefore and in the context of quality management, a restructuring of prehospital emergency medicine towards a process-orientated approach is highly recommended. The approval of the Ethics Committee of Innsbruck Medical University was received on 21 June 2007.