GIS mapping evaluation of stroke service areas in Bangkok using emergency medical services

Abstract

Nowadays, stroke is the leading cause of death in Thailand. Patients must be treated within 4.5 hours from symptom onset to increase recovery rate. Time is therefore a critical factor of the success or failure of the treatments. The objective of this research is to investigate the service coverage of various healthcare centers through current Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Bangkok. To get service coverages for Stroke in Bangkok, the updated speed of the traffic and the amount of time it takes for each mode of transport for the pre-hospital stroke process are collected and examined using GIS mapping. The findings compare service coverages for different healthcare groupings, namely, non-network and network stroke healthcare centers. The result of this research shows that the service coverages of each hospital depend on the availability of rt-PA facility. Current total stroke service area covers approximately 90.4% of Bangkok but with different service density in each sub-district level. This study recommends guidelines for building new networks and adding healthcare centers to supplement existing networks in order to increase service coverage.