EMS in Taiwan: past, present, and future.

Taiwan is a small island country located in East Asia. From around 1995 modern concepts of the EMS were imported and supported by legislation. Considerable progress has since been made towards the construction of an effective pre-hospital care system. This article introduces the current status of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Resuscitation Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 9 - 14
Main Authors: Chiang WC, Ko PC, Wang HC, Yang CW, Shih FY, Hsiung KH, Ma MH, Chiang, Wen-Chu, Ko, Patrick Chow-In, Wang, Hui-Chih, Yang, Chi-Wei, Shih, Fuh-Yuan, Hsiung, Kuang-Hua, Ma, Matthew Huei-Ming
Format: research Journal Article
Published: Elsevier B.V. Jan2009
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Taiwan is a small island country located in East Asia. From around 1995 modern concepts of the EMS were imported and supported by legislation. Considerable progress has since been made towards the construction of an effective pre-hospital care system. This article introduces the current status of the EMS in Taiwan, including the systems, response configurations, funding, personnel, medical directorship, and outcome research. The features and problems of in-hospital emergency care are also discussed. Key areas for further development in the country vary depending on regional differences in available resource and population density. An analysis of the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats of the evolving EMS in Taiwan could be an example for other countries where the EMS is undergoing a similar process of development and optimisation.