Dispatch Optimization & Accountability

Real-Time EMS Dispatch Recommendations and After-Action Review: A Complete System

DataAuthenticity LLC EMS Dispatch • Candidate Ranking • Accountability

Originally published by the author on the Zoll Data Community forum

At the center of any well-performing ambulance service is dispatch. Dispatchers monitor a constantly moving job board and are expected to make fast, accurate vehicle assignment decisions — often under pressure, with imperfect information. Not every decision is optimal, and the gap between a good assignment and a poor one can mean the difference between meeting a response time benchmark and missing it. This post describes a complete system built to support dispatchers in real time and to give operations teams the data they need to review past decisions objectively — without blame, and with the goal of continuous improvement.

Part 1 — Live Dispatch Assistance

Why Build a Custom Candidate Ranking Tool?

RescueNet includes a built-in candidate ranking feature, and it works for basic use. However, a custom approach becomes necessary when the operation requires capabilities that the native tool does not support, including:

Pre-assignment for scheduled calls — recommending vehicles based on where they will be once their current trip ends, not just where they are now.
Level-of-service filtering — preventing the system from recommending a BLS unit for an ALS call, or a non-bariatric vehicle for a bariatric transport.
Crew schedule awareness — factoring in shift end times to avoid inadvertent overtime.
Custom refresh rate — running as frequently as the logic allows, rather than on a fixed system interval.

The primary advantage of building this independently is that it can run automatically at a fast refresh rate and deliver recommendations the moment conditions change — a new call drops, a unit clears, a pre-assigned resource changes status — all handled without dispatcher intervention.

The Live Assistance Dashboard

The live assistance tool is a browser-based dashboard, accessible on any workstation connected to the internal network, that self-refreshes every 3 minutes. The layout is designed for fast visual scanning at a glance:

Left side: Open (unassigned) calls currently on the board.
Right side: Up to five vehicle recommendations per call, sorted by distance to the pickup location.

The dashboard is divided into two sections: Exact Match and Not Exact Match. An exact match means a recommended vehicle will finish its current trip at the same facility where the open call originates — a perfect pre-assignment opportunity that eliminates an unnecessary trip from further away.

Live EMS dispatch assistance dashboard showing open calls on the left and vehicle recommendations sorted by distance on the right — The live dispatch dashboard: open calls on the left, ranked vehicle recommendations on the right. Exact match opportunities are highlighted separately.

For example: an open call is scheduled for a 17:00 pickup at a hospital. A recommended vehicle is currently transporting a patient into that same facility. The dashboard surfaces this match automatically, allowing the dispatcher to pre-assign that vehicle and avoid sending a unit from further away — reducing unnecessary mileage, fuel usage, and accident exposure while protecting on-time performance.

When a recommended vehicle is already pre-assigned to another call, that information is displayed as well, giving the dispatcher the context to weigh one assignment against the other.

Operational impact: Less exposure to unnecessary driving means lower fuel costs, reduced accident risk, and stronger unit hour utilization (UHU). The dashboard doesn't replace dispatcher judgment — it sharpens it by eliminating the need to manually cross-reference multiple screens.

Part 2 — Historical Decision Review

Turning the Live Tool into an After-Action Record

The same logic that powers the live dashboard can be repurposed to create a historical record of what recommendations were available at the time of each dispatch decision. This is the foundation of the after-action review process — what might be called "Monday morning quarterbacking," reframed as a coaching and mentoring tool rather than a disciplinary one.

A modified version of the dashboard, narrowed to emergency calls only and formatted to a custom page size, runs on the same 3-minute cycle. For each open emergency call, it bursts a PDF export capturing the recommendations available at that moment. At the same time, it inserts the same data into a custom database table for later reporting use.

EMS dispatch recommendation PDF extract showing a single emergency trip with up to five vehicle recommendations at a specific point in time — A single trip's recommendation extract, generated automatically during the 3-minute cycle. Each export is timestamped to distinguish multiple snapshots of the same call.

Because the process runs every 3 minutes and the board is dynamic, multiple extracts are often generated for the same open trip as conditions evolve. Each extract is timestamped to keep them distinct:

Multiple timestamped PDF exports for the same EMS trip showing how recommendations change over time as unit availability changes — Multiple timestamped snapshots of the same trip, showing how available recommendations shifted as the dispatch board changed during the call's open window.

A secondary process then merges all individual extracts for the same trip into a single consolidated PDF file:

Merged PDF file combining all recommendation snapshots for a single EMS emergency call into one review document — Individual timestamped extracts merged into a single PDF per trip, ready for embedding in after-action reports.

Embedding Reviews in Operational Reports

The main reason for building a merged PDF workflow is reviewability. Looking back at a dispatch decision historically meant manually pulling records from CAD — a time-consuming process that produced a broad board view, not the specific detail relevant to one call. The merged PDFs solve that by containing exactly what recommendations were available when the assignment was made.

These PDFs are embedded directly into operational performance reports. When a report flags calls that missed response time benchmarks, the embedded PDF is attached as a paperclip annotation on the relevant call record:

EMS operational performance report with embedded PDF attachments showing dispatch recommendation data for calls that missed response time benchmarks — The operational report identifies missed benchmarks. The paperclip icon (indicated by arrow) links to the merged recommendation PDF for that call.

Side-by-side view of an EMS performance report and the merged dispatch recommendation PDF opened via embedded attachment — Clicking the paperclip opens the merged recommendation PDF alongside the report — giving reviewers immediate visibility into what options were available at the time of dispatch.

This creates a direct line between a missed metric and a reviewable record of what alternative assignments were available at that moment. The conversation with dispatch shifts from "why was response time poor?" to "here's what was available — let's discuss the decision."

The Database Layer: Structured Data for Ongoing Analysis

Because every recommendation generated is simultaneously captured in the database, the data is also available for structured reporting outside of the PDF workflow. This enables aggregate analysis — patterns in vehicle selection, recurring misses, training opportunities across shifts or supervisors:

Database-driven EMS dispatch recommendation report showing two recommendation snapshots for the same trip at 3-minute intervals with vehicle matching data — Two recommendation snapshots for the same trip, stored in the database and presented in a structured report format. The database layer supports trend analysis and training report generation.

What this enables at the organizational level: A permanent record of what was recommended versus what was actually dispatched. This data feeds both single-incident analysis — surfacing cases where response times were inflated by not using the suggested vehicle — and aggregate dispatch training reports that identify patterns, support thought process alignment, and give management the documentation needed to hold staff to the high standards that contracted hospital and municipal clients expect.

Part 3 — Vehicle Research Dashboard

Researching What the Recommended Vehicle Actually Did

The after-action review process raises a natural follow-up question: if the recommended vehicle wasn't assigned to the open call, what was it doing instead? There is always a possibility that a vehicle was assigned to a comparable call, or had to handle an emergency elsewhere. Evaluating a dispatch decision fairly requires answering that question.

Pulling that information manually from CAD for multiple vehicles across a full shift is impractical. The vehicle research dashboard addresses this by providing an interactive, filterable view of two weeks of trip data — queryable by date, vehicle, and any combination of columns.

Interactive EMS vehicle research dashboard showing two weeks of trip data filterable by date, vehicle number, and trip details — The vehicle research dashboard: two weeks of trip data in an interactive, browser-based view. Filter by any column, group by vehicle, and sort as needed.

Example: Researching Three Recommended Vehicles

Starting from a recommendation extract for a specific trip, suppose the reviewer wants to understand what vehicles 840, 955, and 740 (the top three recommendations) were doing that day:

Filter the date column to the date of service.
Filter the vehicle column to select units 840, 955, and 740.

EMS vehicle research dashboard filtered to show a specific trip being investigated — The specific trip under review — used as the starting point for researching what the recommended vehicles were doing that day.

EMS vehicle dashboard filtered to show only trips for vehicles 840, 955, and 740 on the date of service — The dashboard filtered to the three vehicles under review. All trips for those units on the selected date are visible without switching between CAD screens.

For easier comparison, the vehicle column can be dragged to the grouping area to organize results by unit:

EMS vehicle research dashboard with trip data grouped by vehicle number for side-by-side comparison of unit activity — Data grouped by vehicle number, making it straightforward to trace each unit's full day of activity in sequence.

Fully Personalized Views

The dashboard behaves like an interactive spreadsheet: columns can be filtered, sorted, rearranged by drag-and-drop, and toggled on or off. Each user's configuration is saved in their browser cache, so multiple people can work from the same data source simultaneously with their own personalized view — without affecting anyone else's layout.

EMS vehicle review dashboard showing personalized column layout with grouped vehicle data and custom sort order — Each reviewer can configure their own column layout, grouping, and sort order. Settings persist in the browser, so the next session picks up exactly where they left off.

The complete picture: The live dashboard shows what the best options were. The historical PDFs record what was recommended when. The vehicle research dashboard answers what actually happened. Together, these three layers give operations the information needed to have fair, data-driven conversations about dispatch performance — and to build a culture of continuous improvement.

Looking to Build This for Your Operation?

DataAuthenticity LLC has implemented dispatch recommendation systems, historical review workflows, and accountability dashboards for EMS agencies and 911 operations. Every system is built around your existing data — no third-party platforms or subscription fees required.

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