National Ambulance Service in Hungary – graduated system for the prehospital medicalization

The prehospital emergency medical services are provided by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in Hungary. In this article, a short description of the organizational structure in the National Ambulance Service are described with the intention to highlight future directions in emergency medical services, as well as the influence of international trends in emergency patient care. In Hungary, the national ambulance service has centralized and uniform equipment throughout the country. The ambulance cars are staffed by two or three crew members trained in rescue, stabilization of the patient's status, transport, and advanced care of traumatic and medical emergencies. There are three major levels of care provided by ambulance personnel: a basic level ambulance crew (Emergency Medical Technician Unit), a second level (Ambulance Officer Unit), and the highest level (Emergency Physician Unit). The advanced paramedic has the same competences in the prehospital care as an emergency physician. Although the Hungarian Ambulance Service has a very long and meaningful past new challenges on the prehospital emergency care are inevitable and continuous development is necessary for save more life.