Concepedia

Abstract

KNOWLEDGE of the population, nature and distribution of emergencies, and ge- ography and physical environment of a com¬ munity is a basic requirement for setting up an emergency medical system and can be used to evaluate existing or proposed systems and fa¬ cilities.But there have been no such data with which to work.The San Francisco study was undertaken to accumulate samples of these data.The San Francisco Study San Francisco has many advantages as a subject of a systems analysis of an urban emergency medical service because of the orga¬ nization of services and the interest of the department of public health, which operates the emergency hospitals and their ambulances.A 1963-64 study by the San Francisco De¬ partment of Public Health and the Injury Con¬ trol Program, Public Health Service, was un¬ dertaken to develop methodology and data as a partial basis for improving timeliness and adequacy of emergency care systems.The study is concerned with the initial phases of emer¬ gency care.from the time the patient is discov¬ ered until he leaves the emergency hospital.