Characterisics of Emergency Medical Services Utilized by Elderly Residents in Nursing Homes

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of emergency medical services (EMS) utilization among elderly patients divided into two groups depending on place of living: nursing homes and places other than nursing homes. The data includes patients aged 65 years old and over for whom ambulances were requested by the 119 Dispatch Center in Gyeonggi Province from January 1st to December 31st, 2018. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0. The findings showed that EMS ambulances were requested more frequently for female patients in nursing homes than males in other places. Brain disease was the most common medical history of the EMS users at nursing homes (P=0.000). Also, critical medical conditions, such as cardiac arrest (5.4%), altered mental status (16.4%), difficulty breathing (18.6%), and fever (19.2%), were found more than twofold higher among the EMS patients in nursing homes, which were classified as emergency by EMS crews. This study suggests a review and amendment of the legal standards regarding support for emergency medical providers and allocation of ambulances.