• Marcus E H Ong, Jungheum Cho, Matthew Huei-Ming Ma, Hideharu Tanaka, Tatsuya Nishiuchi, Omer Al Sakaf, Abdul Karim Sarah S, Nalinas Khunkhlai, Ridvan Atilla, Chih-Hao Lin, Nur Shahidah, Desiree Lie, Sang Do Shin, and PAROS Investigators.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. marcus.ong.e.h@sgh.com.sg
• Emerg Med Australas. 2013 Feb 1; 25 (1): 55-63.

ObjectiveAsia-Pacific countries have unique prehospital emergency care or emergency medical services (EMS) systems, which are different from European or Anglo-American models. We aimed to compare the EMS systems of eight Asia-Pacific countries/regions as part of the Pan Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS), to provide a basis for future comparative studies across systems of care.MethodsIn the first phase, a systematic literature review of EMS system within the eight PAROS countries/regions of interest was conducted. In the second phase, PAROS site directors were surveyed for additional information about the demographics and characteristics of EMS services at their sites.ResultsThe database and bibliography search identified 25 eligible articles. The survey of EMS systems was completed by seven PAROS directors. By combining information sources from phases 1 and 2, we found that all PAROS EMS systems were single-tiered, and most were public (vs private) and fire-based (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea). Ambulance personnel were primarily emergency medical technicians and paramedics, except for Thailand and Turkey, whose personnel include nurses and physicians. Personnel were trained to use automated external defibrillators and have basic cardiac life support certification. The service capability of each EMS system in terms of dispatch, airway management and medications, for example, varied greatly.ConclusionWe found variation in the EMS systems across the eight Asia-Pacific countries/regions studied. The findings will inform the construction of a multinational Asia-Pacific research network for future comparative studies and could serve as a model for international research networks.© 2012 The Authors. EMA © 2012 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

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