Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Dec 2013
The impact of heat waves on transport volumes in an urban emergency medical services system: a retrospective review.
Heat waves pose a serious public health risk to particular patient populations, especially in urban areas. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in many urban areas constitute the first line of regional preparation and response to major heat wave events; however, little is known on heat wave operational impact to the EMS system, such as call volume or demand. ⋯ Emergency Medical Services call volumes were significantly increased during heat waves, however there was minimal change in the types of calls received.