Military Protocols Could Reduce 20% of Trauma-Related Deaths

While trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age 46, nearly 1 in 5 of those deaths may be preventable, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Advances in military trauma care over the past decade from experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have led to a nearly 50% increase in survival rates from battlefield injuries between 2005 and 2013, despite an increase in the severity of injuries during the same time period. The report estimates that with optimal trauma care, translating lessons learned on the battlefield into the civilian sector, as many as 30,000 deaths in a single year may be preventable.

Over 60% of the Level 1 trauma centers in the U.S. are Epic customers. Want to read more? Check out the full report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths After Injury.