RT Book, Section A1 Williams, Kenneth A. A2 Cooney, Derek R. SR Print(0) ID 1126789014 T1 Medical Control, Direction, and Oversight T2 Cooney's EMS Medicine YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071775649 LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1126789014 RD 2024/10/10 AB EMS in the United States is a hierarchical care delivery system, with physician leaders working in partnership with EMT/paramedic providers to rescue, care for, and transport patients. Alternative system structures are possible, and work well in other countries and settings. These include both systems with more physician involvement (physicians routinely staffing ambulances), and systems where EMS providers organize and manage their system with little or no physician input. The US model includes a robust prehospital emergency care network in which care is directly provided by predominantly nonphysician prehospital providers. The physician role in this type of system is heavily weighted toward oversight and direction of the system and through direct contact with providers in the field when called for medical control. This chapter will provide an overview of these topics and following chapters will provide greater detail on each of the elements discussed.