Highlights
- •There is no single unified certification system for trauma centers in the United States, rather multiple distinct systems.
- •The criteria used for the same trauma “level” is different between certification systems, leading to discrepancies in certifications.
- •We established a unified trauma center database for the United States and made data available to researchers and the public via our app, findERnow.
Abstract
Objective
Methods
Results
Conclusions
Keywords
Abbreviations:
United States ((U.S.)), emergency medical technician ((EMT)), emergency department ((ED)), American College of Surgeons’ Verification Review and Consultation ((ACS)), National Emergency Department Inventory ((NEDI)-USA), Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator ((PECC)), Critical Access Hospital ((CAH)), American Trauma Society ((ATS)), American Hospital Association ((AHA))Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to InjuryReferences
- Traumatic injury in the United States: In-patient epidemiology 2000-2011.Injury. 2016; 47: 1393-1403https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2016.04.002
- Major trauma: What is important for the best outcome and survival?.J Postgrad Med. 2017; 63: 149-150https://doi.org/10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_752_16
- Committee on Trauma.Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient. American College of Surgeons, Committee on Trauma, 2014
Committee on Military Trauma Care's Learning Health System and Its Translation to the Civilian Sector, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Board on the Health of Select Populations, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths After Injury. (Berwick D, Downey A, Cornett E, eds.). National Academies Press (US); 2016. Accessed June 30, 2022. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390327/
- The National Study on Costs and Outcomes of Trauma.J Trauma. 2007; 63 (Suppldiscussion S81-86): S54-S67https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e31815acb09
- The effect of an organized trauma system on mortality in major trauma involving serious head injury: a comparison of the United kingdom and victoria, australia.Ann Surg. 2011; 253: 138-143https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0b013e3181f6685b
- An overview of the American trauma system.Chin J Traumatol. 2018; 21: 77-79https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.01.003
American College of Surgeons. Searching for Verified Trauma Centers. American College of Surgeons website. https://www.facs.org/search/trauma-centers. Accessed July 8, 2020.
- National inventory of hospital trauma centers.JAMA. 2003; 289: 1515-1522https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.289.12.1515
- Sustaining a coordinated, regional approach to trauma and emergency care is critical to patient health care needs.Health Aff (Millwood). 2013; 32: 2091-2098https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0716
- Disparities in Access to Trauma Care in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis.Injury. 2017; 48: 332-338https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2017.01.008
Emergency Medicine Network. findERnow – Free Smartphone Application. Massachusetts General Hospital website. http://findernow.massgeneral.org/. Accessed July 26, 2020.
- A profile of US emergency departments in 2001.Ann Emerg Med. 2006; 48: 694-701https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2006.08.020
Montana Department of Health & Human Services. Trauma Facility Designation: Confirming a Facility is Performing as a Trauma Center. Montana.gov website. https://dphhs.mt.gov/Portals/85/publichealth/documents/EMSTS/trauma/tccourse/06-TraumaDesignation.pdf. Published 2010. Accessed July 8, 2020.
- Survival benefit of transfer to tertiary trauma centers for major trauma patients initially presenting to nontertiary trauma centers.Acad Emerg Med. 2010; 17: 1223-1232https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2010.00918.x
- National Study of Self-reported Pediatric Areas in United States General Emergency Departments.Acad Emerg Med. 2018; 25: 1458-1462https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13633
- Pediatric Telemedicine Use in United States Emergency Departments.Acad Emerg Med. 2018; 25: 1427-1432https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13629
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Residency Directory. SAEM website. https://www.saem.org/resources/directories/residency-directory/. Accessed July 6, 2020.
Flex Monitoring Team. Critical Access Hospital Locations. FMT Website. https://www.flexmonitoring.org/data/critical-access-hospital-locations/. Accessed July 8, 2020.
American Burn Association. Burn Center Verification. Ameriburn website. https://ameriburn.org/quality-care/verification/. Accessed July 8, 2020.
Joint Commission Accreditation and Certification. Stroke Center Certification. Joint Commission Website. https://www.jointcommission.org/en/accreditation-and-certification/certification/certifications-by-setting/hospital-certifications/stroke-certification/. Accessed July 6, 2020.
DNVGL Healthcare. DNVGL Hospitals List. DNVGL website. https://www.dnvglhealthcare.com/hospitals. Accessed July 8, 2020.
Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program. HFAP Accreditation. HFAP website. https://www.hfap.org/accreditation/the-accreditation-process/. Accessed July 8, 2020.
US. Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service. Urban Influence Codes. USDA.gov website. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/urban-influence-codes.aspx. Accessed July 6, 2020.
- What is a Freestanding Emergency Department? Definitions Differ Across Major United States Data Sources.West J Emerg Med. 2020; 21: 660-664https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2020.3.46001
- Impact of trauma center designation on outcomes: is there a difference between Level I and Level II trauma centers?.J Am Coll Surg. 2012; 215: 372-378https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2012.03.018
- The effect of organized systems of trauma care on motor vehicle crash mortality.JAMA. 2000; 283: 1990-1994https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.283.15.1990
- Rural hospital transfer patterns before and after implementation of a statewide trauma system.Acad Emerg Med. 1997; 4: 764-771https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.1997.tb03781.x
- Does the Institution of a Statewide Trauma System Reduce Preventable Mortality and Yield a Positive Return on Investment for Taxpayers?.J Am Coll Surg. 2017; 224: 489-499https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2016.12.042
New Hampshire EMS. New Hampshire Trauma System Consultation Report. Nh.gov website. https://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/fstems/ems/documents/acsreport.pdf. Published February 2016. Accessed July 23, 2019.
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. R.61-116, South Carolina Trauma Care Systems. SCDHEC.gov website. https://www.scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/R.61-116.pdf. Published May 27, 2016. Accessed July 8, 2020.
- Effect of American College of Surgeons Trauma Center Designation on Outcomes: Measurable Benefit at the Extremes of Age and Injury.J Am Coll Surg. 2017; 225: 194-199https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2017.04.034
Florida Department of Health. Florida Trauma Centers. Florida Health website. http://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/trauma-system/_documents/traumacenterlisting2018.pdf. Published August 8, 2018. Accessed July 8, 2020.
Alabama Department of Health. Alabama Trauma Centers. Alabama Public Health website. https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/aths/trauma-center-levels.html. Accessed July 8, 2020.
- Deciphering the use and predictive value of “emergency medical services provider judgment” in out-of-hospital trauma triage: A multisite, mixed methods assessment.J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012; 72: 1239-1248https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e3182468b51
- The Navigation Puzzle.EMS World. 2009; 2009 (December) (Accessed July 26, 2020)
American Trauma Society. Find Your Local Trauma Center. American Trauma Society website. https://www.amtrauma.org/page/FindTraumaCenter. Accessed July 24, 2019.
American Hospital Association. AHA Annual Survey Database. American Hospital Association Website. https://www.ahadata.com/aha-annual-survey-database. Accessed November 22, 2020.
- Mobile Devices and Apps for Health Care Professionals: Uses and Benefits.P T. 2014; 39: 356-364
- An inventory of stroke centers in the United States.J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2022; 3: e12673https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12673
- Development of a Unified National Database of Burn Centers With Colocated Emergency Departments, 2020.J Burn Care Res. 2022; 43: 1066-1073https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/irab238
- Development of a unified national database of primary percutaneous coronary intervention centers with co-located emergency departments, 2020.Am Heart J. 2022; 254: 149-155https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2022.08.012
