Elsevier, Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 1(30), p. 105-122, 2012
DOI: 10.1016/j.emc.2011.09.001
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Cardiac arrest is a major public health problem affecting thousands of individuals each year in both the before hospital and in-hospital settings. However, although the scope of the problem is large, the quality of care provided during resuscitation attempts frequently does not meet quality of care standards, despite evidence-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines, extensive provider training, and provider credentialing in resuscitation medicine. Although this fact may be disappointing, it should not be surprising. Resuscitation of the cardiac arrest victim is a highly complex task requiring coordination between various levels and disciplines of care providers during a stressful and relatively infrequent clinical situation. Moreover, it requires a targeted, high-quality response to improve clinical outcomes of patients. Therefore, solutions to improve care provided during resuscitation attempts must be multifaceted and targeted to the diverse number of care providers to be successful.