Grid-based geospatial analysis of areas vulnerable to prehospital transportation of emergency patients in Jeju

During emergencies, the time from symptom onset to definitive treatment determines the final outcome. Therefore, the emergency medical service (EMS) system in Korea, aims to transfer patients requiring emergency care to appropriate medical facilities within 30 minutes. This is in an attempt to improve the chances of survival and reduce sequelae. We attempted to locate areas vulnerable to prehospital transportation and identify hot spots with high demand for emergency medical helicopters in Jeju, by using a grid-based geospatial analysis. This retrospective cross-sectional observational study employed EMS data of 119 ambulance run sheets spanning from January 1, 2010 to September 30, 2018 in Jeju. The location data of emergency patients was superimposed on the spatial analysis frame using the geographic information system (GIS). Subsequently, the locations of long-distance transfer and delayed transfers to the hospital were analyzed, to identify hot spots where the demand for helicopter emergency services would be high. Of the total analysis targets, 42.2% (20,288 people) took more than 30 minutes from reporting to 119 dispatchers to hospital transfer. As the transfer time interval increased, the patient occurrence time increased in the city of Jeju, increased in Seogwipo, and the ratio of patients/ guardians to select a transfer hospital rose with significant differences. This study identified the characteristics related to time delays in prehospital transfer of emergency patients in Jeju, and the areas vulnerable to prehospital emergency care were derived and visualized through spatial analysis using the GIS.