Position Statement: Mass Gathering Medical Care[1]
Summary
NAEMSP's updated consensus position statement on mass-gathering medical care, combining peer-reviewed evidence and expert opinion for EMS physicians, medical directors, and event care teams. It frames goals of event medicine as on-site stabilization and critical care, reduction of the burden on host-jurisdiction EMS and hospitals (including physician-overseen alternative disposition), MCI preparation, and care at least commensurate with local standards. It specifies an event medical director who is a physician knowledgeable in EMS and mass-gathering logistics, documented leadership in the Medical Plan (ICS Form 206) and Safety Plan oversight (ICS 208), clinician credentialing against local scope, and unified-command MCI preplanning. Resource planning should combine predictive models (with awareness of their limits), the event's own historical data, and PPR/MUR/TTHR metrics; communications include a dedicated medical radio channel with an MCI channel plan.
Key findings
- Defines the modern standard: physician medical director, ICS-documented medical plan (Forms 205/206/208), credentialing, unified-command MCI preplanning.
- Goals: on-site stabilization, reduced 911/hospital burden via physician-overseen disposition, MCI readiness, care ≥ local standard.
- Planning doctrine: predictive models + event-specific history + PPR/MUR/TTHR metrics.
- Notes definitional drift: >1,000-person threshold common, but resource-based definitions preferred; most data from events >25,000.
- Supersedes the 2000 NAEMSP position (Jaslow).
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