The Development of Emergency Medical Services Systems

Interest groups play an important part in the determination of public policy and impact on decisions made at all levels of government. As a public agency, emergency medical systems (EMS) have not been immune to their influence and persuasion. The external environment of EMS has been largely shaped by interest groups which have proven to be as important to the organization as its internal structuring. Interest groups had a major role in EMS program design which emphasized strong federal control. However, a major philosophical shift in thinking has challenged that design in recent years and a community, grass roots approach to EMS has since evolved. This paper will examine the process by which EMS became a national priority in the early 1970s, assess some of the problems (political and otherwise) which occurred when the federal EMS systems plan was implemented, and predict what the future of EMS might be under decentralized, community control.Master of Public AdministrationPublic AdministrationUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143230/1/Olson.pd