In 1996, the Iowa City Police Department began to offer Emergency Medical Dispatch. The communication specialists were trained to ask callers what is wrong with the ill or injured person, and instruct the caller on how to help the victim. Callers may be instructed on how to perform CPR, help stop bleeding, or what to do for victims who are choking. There are two reasons for offering Emergency Medical Dispatch. The first is pre-arrival instructions, where callers are instructed on how to help victims by phone. The second is priority dispatching, by which the dispatcher can learn the severity of the illness or injury, and determine whether the responding ambulance and first responders need to use lights and sirens.

This system is called Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). The system is based upon questions that a dispatcher asks a caller to find out if the person has immediate life-threatening condition, such as no pulse, or no breathing. The dispatcher has a flip-card system with generalized conditions that require Emergency Medical Services. By going to the appropriate injury or illness category, such as chest pain or car accident, the dispatcher may ask questions to find out how serious the illness or injury is.

After determining the severity of the illness or injury, the flip-cards have instructions on how to instruct the caller in first aid for the victim. The cards are based upon a curriculum taught in an Emergency Medical Dispatch Course, offered locally by the UIHC Emergency Medical Services Learning Resource Center.  The first aid techniques delivered by phone instruction are simple lifesaving skills, such as CPR or control of bleeding. These lifesaving skills greatly aid the victims outcome if begun as soon as the call is made.

Emergency Medical Dispatch also offers Priority Dispatching. The system is designed to separate calls without life-threatening conditions from the calls that do. The priority of the call is based upon the severity of the victim’s illness or injury. A pre-written set of protocols determine if the ambulance or first responders respond using the lights and sirens or not. The protocols are approved by the Johnson County Ambulance Medical Director.

Priority Dispatching reduces the amount of times an ambulance travels to a call with lights and sirens. This reduces risk to the public and the ambulance. Nationwide studies have shown that using light and sirens in urban areas do not save as much time as thought. The system overestimates the severity of the illness or injury, so if there is any question as to the severity, lights and sirens are used.