State Flex Program Rural Emergency Medical Services Assessment Strategies

The guidance for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program for the competitive funding cycle that began in Fiscal Year 2015 (September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016) required any state interested in undertaking EMS projects to conduct an EMS assessment during the first year and use the results to inform its activities in subsequent years of the funding cycle. This brief provides an overview of the EMS assessment projects and tools implemented by five State Flex Programs (Arizona, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin), including the strategies and tools used to conduct their assessments and their dissemination plans. Based on grant applications and progress reports submitted by State Flex Programs, their assessment tools and reports, and interviews with key informants, this brief provides insight into the scope of state EMS assessments, the development and implementation of their assessment tools, the resources needed to conduct their assessments, factors that contributed to their successes and challenges, and their dissemination plans for their assessment results. The brief concludes by highlighting lessons learned to inform the efforts of other State Flex Programs, as well as EMS authorities interested in conducting their own rural EMS assessments.