Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Improving Partnerships With Emergency Medical Services
Emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians increasingly encounter seriously ill patients and their caregivers in times of distress. When crises arise or care coordination falls short, these high-stakes interactions highlight opportunities to improve care experience and outcomes. Efforts must address wide educational gaps, absence of specialized care protocols, and systematic fragmentation leading to hyperlocal practice. The authors of this study in the Journal of Palliative Medicine represent cross-sectional expertise in palliative care and EMS. This study describes unmet needs at the EMS-palliative interface, challenges with collaboration, and where directional progress exists.