Organisatorisch-strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen beeinflussen die Analgesie durch Notfallsanitäterinnen und Notfallsanitäter: eine Routinedatenanalyse

Acute pain is a common reason for emergency medical services (EMS) calls, which is why analgesia must be possible and mastered by all qualified EMS personnel.

The aim of this study was to describe the influence of structural quality on the provision of analgesia by paramedics.

In an exploratory graphical data analysis, routine EMS data were analyzed for organizational–structural influences with regard to frequency, indications, success, and emergency physician requests for analgesia by paramedics.

A total of 1640 patients were included in the study period from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2023. The mean age of the patients was 56 ± 23 years (range 6–101 years). The main indications were trauma (51.5%), abdominal disorders (25.1%), and other diseases (11.7%). The most negative influence on the frequency of analgesia was a temporary lack of insurance cover with a decrease of −66.4% and an increase of emergency physician request from 23.2 to 71.6%. The most significant positive influence was the introduction of preauthorization and adjustments according to the changes in the Narcotics Law with an increase of +138.6% and a decrease in emergency physician requests to 4.7%. The indicator ”successful analgesia“ increased from 56.4 to 86.9%.

Analysis of routine data shows that organizational and structural factors such as legal requirements, internal guidelines, liability aspects, and available equipment influence the frequency of analgesia. These factors also have an impact on the need to request an emergency physician and are therefore significant for the overall system.