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EMSWORLD.com | NOVEMBER 2017 15 tive answer to that question. Requested responses, actual responses, those can- celed en route or on scene, those with no patients or multiple patients—it's a harder question to answer than you think. Build and follow the data. Learn how to develop and implement effective plans from systems and people who do it well. Start slowly and learn as you go. Some agencies have 90% of their EMS units on static deployment, with 10% as "peak demand" units. If you take a hard look at the data, you could slowly and intention- ally begin shifting those static resources to dynamic resources, becoming more effec- tive and creating clinical and economic effi- ciencies in the system. Final Words of Wisdom EMS is healthcare. Healthcare is rapidly changing to a value-based economic model. Local taxpayers are beginning to focus on the same value-based models, and you're seeing communities across the country begin to ask tough questions about the costs of service delivery and value. Why should you become an expert in the production and placement of ambu- lance unit hours? Outside the benefits noted above, cost efficiency and the abil- ity to pass those efficiencies on to our employees, unit-hour production is the core responsibility of EMS managers uniquely. No one is going to produce unit hours for us when and where we need them. If we can apply management and improvement theory to how we produce unit hours and improve our response-time reliability, we can also apply those methods to improving patient care. It's about match- ing resources to need, whether the need is system coverage to meet demand, a defi- brillator to convert ventricular fibrillation or a conversation with a patient who may not be best served by ambulance transport. Effective resource utilization is para- mount in this new environment and a major disruptor in the provision of EMS, regard- less of the type of agency providing the ser- vice. We encourage the EMS profession to continue identifying innovative methods to manage systems and match the resources we create with the needs of our patients. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Joe Penner is executive director at Medic, the paramedic service for the Charlotte- Mecklenburg, N.C. area. He is a board member for the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services, the American Ambulance Association and the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI), as well as a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Jonathan Studnek, PhD, NRP, is a deputy director for the Mecklenburg EMS Agency. He is responsible for planning, developing, implementing and overseeing a comprehensive strategy for per formance improvement, clinical education and human resources to include risk and safety. He also serves as the agency's lead clinical researcher. ENHANCED LINE OF SIGHT VIEW Allows for an excellent straight line of sight view with 360 degree maximal illumination. EASY TO USE Provides the ability to intubate the patient when awake in trauma situations. PATENTED LIFESAVING TECHNOLOGY Gives the user the best chance of intubating patients in any situation, in or outside of a hospital. A Simple and Efficient Device to Secure the Difficult Airway To schedule a demo call: 425-577-2713 or visit: www.adroitsurgical.com ® DESIGNED FOR EMS AND COMBAT MEDICS You could save a life with a Vie Scope ® NEW For More Information Circle 18 on Reader Service Card