Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) emergency services directive to determine: (1) how the directive's requirements compared with civilian standards for emergency care; and (2) its implementation status.
GAO found that: (1) civilian experts believed that the directive's requirements for physician staffing, training, treatment protocols, patient transfer agreements, and quality assurance exceeded civilian standards; (2) two of the eight military hospitals it visited did not fully meet the requirement for experienced emergency room physicians in primary and patient care specialties because they did not understand the requirement; and (3) although some hospitals did not meet life-support certification requirements, they expected to be in compliance by the September 1989 deadline. GAO also found that: (1) the Navy expected to comply with certification requirements for its ambulance technicians by 1989; (2) the Army and the Air Force were uncertain about their ability to meet technician requirements; (3) most military hospitals did not implement treatment protocol requirements, and six hospitals did not have patient transfer agreements with nearby civilian hospitals; and (4) all the hospitals had emergency room quality assurance programs.
