A comparison of Australasian jurisdictional ambulance services’ clinical practice guidelines series : An introduction

Introduction

There are 10 emergency paramedic services in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia), referred to as jurisdictional ambulance services (JASs). All 10 of the JASs in Australasia produce their own clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). With differing approaches to their review and implementation of new evidence, there is opportunity for differences to arise between guidelines. This article outlines a new series that will aim to identify interjurisdictional differences in CPGs and paramedic scopes of practice, and consequently differences in patient treatment depending on which jurisdiction a patient is geographically located within at the time of their complaint.

Methods

The current CPGs of each JAS will be obtained from each JAS, and content extracted by registered paramedics. The scope of practice for each intervention presented in the guideline will be classified as being at the level of ‘paramedic’, ‘intensive care paramedic’ (or equivalent, as titles vary by jurisdiction), or ‘restricted’. Each paper will be provided to each JAS for optional verification of content before publication, and the results of this will be stated.

Conclusion

This series will aim to provide a contemporary overview of Australasian JAS clinical practice guidelines and scopes of practice.