Abstract
The call volume in emergency medical service (EMS) dispatch centers has seen a drastic increase for many years now, especially looking at urban regions of Germany. In this context, the control mechanisms of the EMS dispatch center can be utilized to break new ground regarding the handling of emergency calls and dispatch practice in order to manage incoming calls as efficiently as possible. This article clearly explains standardized protocol-based emergency medical call taking, internal structuring of control centers and pathways, also during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Berlin EMS dispatch center as an example. The terms structured and standardized protocol-based emergency medical call taking should be differentiated, whereby the standardized call taking process is more binding and based on international standards with high reliability. Quality management measures ensure that the protocol is applied in accordance with the regulations. Improved collaboration and automated transfer of data between EMS dispatch centers and the control centers for non-life-threatening physician on-call services enable low-priority calls to be forwarded on a regular basis. Interprofessional teams in EMS can improve the care of specific patient groups in a targeted manner and avoid transport to emergency departments. Standardized protocol-based and software-based emergency call taking currently represents best practice according to medical science, supporting a nationwide implementation. Furthermore, an intensive collaboration between EMS control centers and control centers for non-life-threatening physician on-call services is recommended as well as the introduction of specialized EMS resources and app-based alerting of first responders.