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M. <br /> 1 <br /> Comprehensive Assessment of Emergency Medical Services 38 <br /> DRAFT REPORT and 911/Communications Center Operations Study <br /> Average vs. Fractile Response Time Performance Criteria <br /> It is has been a common practice in the past to report response times by using averages. This is an easy- <br /> to-understand methodology that calculates response times by adding all applicable response times <br /> together and then dividing the total number of minutes by the total number of responses to come up <br /> with an average. <br /> Unfortunately, measuring and reporting average response times is inadvisable because one-half of the <br /> patients may receive the required response time, while the other half do not. Given what has been <br /> learned about the need for an eight-minute response to maximize survivability from cardiac arrest, an <br /> average eight-minute response, by definition, means that one-half, or more, of the service's patients are <br /> not reached within that critical time. <br /> Many high-performance emergency ambulance services use a different methodology to measure <br /> response times to ensure service equality to all patients: fractile distribution; in most instances as <br /> suggested by NFPA and others, reported at the 90"' percentile. <br /> This methodology places each response within the minute it is achieved and stacks the minutes in <br /> ascending order to establish a fractile response-time distribution. The point at which the fractile <br /> response time crosses the percentile measures the point of the service's response-time reliability. <br /> For example; the current Orange County EMS response time objectives, as published in the Orange <br /> County EMS System Plan on file with the State Office of EMS,states that: <br /> For Emergency Responses; <br /> A Paramedic be on scene within 12 minutes 90%of the time <br /> For Non-Emergency Responses; <br /> A Paramedic be on scene within 15 minutes 90%of the time <br /> Figure 26 <br /> Annual Average Response Time-Emergency vs.Non-Emergency-All Calls 2009-2011 <br /> 90%Fractile Times-Emergency vs.Non-Emergency-All Calls 2011 <br /> 0:12:23 T — -;- 0:12:02 <br /> 0:12:06 I- - 0.11.4A �- _- 90% @22 Minutes <br /> 0:11:48 <br /> 0 11:30 <br /> 0!:11:31 <br /> 0:11:14 . .,.._.,..4...................... <br /> 0:10:57 <br /> 0:10:37 0:10:31 90%@18 Minutes <br /> 0:10:39 <br /> 0.10.19 <br /> A <br /> 0:10:05 ` _ -1 <br /> 0:09:48 ..........., a .,,.,.,_..,,ya.a«,,,.,.. .i,_.....:._,...y........,>-.,....,......., <br /> 0:09:13 <br /> 2009 2010 2011 <br /> 4—Emergency —4—Non-Emergency <br /> Solutions for Local Government,Inc. 36 <br />