Community Paramedicine What Why and How

The authors discuss how community paramedics can address gaps in health care access. They examine the history of emergency medical services, including the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (which mandates emergency treatment in U.S. emergency departments) and how that led to emergency services functioning as the most reliable source of health care for populations without health insurance in the U.S. The article includes key characteristics of an effective community paramedic program, with an emphasis on using data to understand the types of emergency calls and geographic locations where calls are most frequent.