Prehospital care of the injured: what's new.

Emergency medical services (EMS) play a critical role in the trauma system as the point of initial patient care and stabilization and in determining the regional flow of patients and the commitment of resources to the critically injured. Trauma surgeons and emergency physicians need to be involved in the organizational planning of EMS systems to ensure that uniform patient care protocols are developed for triage and treatment. Ongoing efforts should focus on addressing national variability in care provided after injury to ensure optimal outcome for patients in all regions. Through additional research, the best practice and optimal EMS system design will continue to be defined.