Table 3 Themes, interview guide questions and paramedic quotes
Subject | Interview guide question | Themes addressed in interviews | Representative paramedic quote (abridged) |
|---|---|---|---|
Technical and organizational feasibility | What do you think about the redirection model proposed by the Government Advisory Council? What aspects of the model are especially positive or negative in your view? How do you assess the technical and organizational feasibility of this pathway? Could you give reasons for this judgment? | Feasible, but only under certain conditions … | |
Documentation / communication | “On the technical side […] I do not see any problem here.” | ||
Process | “[…] we would need to acquire more ambulances, and these would have to be staffed appropriately.” | ||
Paramedics’ competence | “I, as a qualified paramedic, would be happy to take responsibility […]” | ||
Actually not feasible … | |||
EMS workload | “[…] not realizable with the personnel and vehicle resources available.” | ||
Patient safety | “Not every ambulatory case remains an ambulatory case.” | ||
Practice workload | “Primary care doctors are partially overstrained already.” | ||
Alternative options | “[…] there should be the option to transfer to the statutory health insurance physicians’ urgent care service.” (R5) | ||
Acceptance by stakeholders | How do you appraise the acceptability by EMS staff/patients? Could you give reasons for this judgment? | EMS personnel | |
EDs relieved | “[…] emergency departments are able to take care of more real emergency patients […]” | ||
No benefit to EMS | “[…] people will continue to call.” | ||
Potential misuse | “[…] incentive for people using this as a taxi to the general practitioner […]” | ||
Patients | |||
Attractive | “[…] patients would like this, […] because they do not have to wait there for so long.” | ||
Unattractive | “I believe patients want to go to a provider and get an all-inclusive package.” | ||