Improving the Air Force Medical Service's Expeditionary Medical Support System: A Simulation Approach: Analysis of Mass-Casualty Combat and Disaster Relief Scenarios

Research finds minor changes to the Air Force's Expeditionary Medical Support System (EMEDS) that produce significant impacts on patient outcomes in mass-casualty events. The Air Force presently deploys a modular medical treatment facility (MTF), the EMEDS, to provide emergency care to patients...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2020
Main Author: Hamm, John A
Format: Report
Language:English
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RAND Corporation
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Summary:Research finds minor changes to the Air Force's Expeditionary Medical Support System (EMEDS) that produce significant impacts on patient outcomes in mass-casualty events. The Air Force presently deploys a modular medical treatment facility (MTF), the EMEDS, to provide emergency care to patients around the globe. A fully developed EMEDS consists of twenty-five medical and surgical beds. The EMEDS is not designed to treat large numbers of critically wounded patients or individuals needing advanced trauma surgery. However, the Air Force has previously employed an EMEDS to assist with the emergency medical care provided in large-scale operations. This research uses a simulation tool to answer three questions. First, how well does the EMEDS currently perform across three types of mass-casualty events: fixed-based missile strikes, earthquakes, and hurricanes? What changes can be made within an EMEDS that might allow it to better serve large numbers of patients? Finally, across the indicated changes, what are the specific impacts on overall patient outcomes (evacuations, returns-to-duty, and mortality) for different patient streams? This research confirms that the EMEDS is not well-suited to handle patient surges.