They included ambulance drivers’ transmitting electrocardiogram
readings to emergency rooms, E.R. doctors’ deciding whether a
person was likely having a heart attack, and hospital operators’
summoning treatment teams with a single call. These hospitals
also continually measured performance.
I know it's a really minor thing, but the term 'ambulance driver' is a little irksome... It's like calling a doctor a 'prescription writer'.
In the case of a heart attack patient, a paramedic recognizes the possible indications, takes an interprets an EKG, considers the possible differential diagnosis, makes the appropriate hospital notifications, and provides advanced level care to speed things along at the hospital (obtaining IV access, administering various medications, etc). We do a bit more than just drive the ambulance...
As an EMT, I too found this rather disturbing. Throughout the article, prehospital interventions were repeatedly not acknowledged. From the reference to "ambulance drivers" that you mentioned to things as subtle as saying that the clock starts when the patient rolls into the ER rather than when the ambulance arrives on scene, the article completely misses (or does not fully acknowledge) a hugely important factor in improving outcomes for STEMI: the prehospital care involved.
To be fair to the author, not every ambulance crew is paramedic level. And the term "ambulance attendant" was, at one time, in widespread use - to the point that the first level of EMS certification was actually called "Ambulance Attendant", if memory serves correctly.
I know it's annoying when non-domain-specialists misuse terminology, even slightly, but I could see giving them a pass on this one.
Though to be fair, I have a pretty high level of respect for 'Ambulance Drivers,' as conveyed by the inarticulate, if descriptive term. It's kinda like saying a 'Aircraft Carrier Steerer', or 'Space Shuttle Driver'. It might not be the actual term of art, but I do know that person is pretty badass.
In the case of a heart attack patient, a paramedic recognizes the possible indications, takes an interprets an EKG, considers the possible differential diagnosis, makes the appropriate hospital notifications, and provides advanced level care to speed things along at the hospital (obtaining IV access, administering various medications, etc). We do a bit more than just drive the ambulance...