Unofficial translation. The Spanish version is the official one and prevails in case of discrepancy.
Objective
To offer organizers, medical directors and authorities a standard of medical coverage for sports events that saves lives and can be met with the resources available in Panama and Latin America.
The problem
- Panama has no specific standard for medical coverage at sports events.
- Requirements imported from large international events multiply advanced life support ambulances, make events more expensive and discourage compliance.
- What determines survival in cardiac arrest is immediate CPR and the rapid arrival of the defibrillator [3–5].
The proposal
- Metric: time to AED ≤5 min (Essential Minimum) or ≤3 min (Recommended).
- Model: main medical post, post 2, advanced life support (ALS) unit, physician on motorcycle and motorcycles with AED.
- Classification: risk, care profile (clinical, trauma, mixed) and accessibility (urban, difficult, remote, aquatic).
- Heat: WBGT from 6:00, cold-water immersion and "cool first, transport second".
- Deadlines: medical plan 30 days before, drill 7 days before, report 15 days after.
For institutions
| Institution | Proposed role |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Health | Coordinate a technical working group and adopt the recommendation as a technical reference |
| Emergency system (911) | Liaison with the event command center and backup during transports |
| Fire Department · Red Cross | First response, rescue and volunteers trained in CPR and AED use |
| Civil protection · Air-naval service · Environment | Map of risk areas and evacuation in remote and aquatic zones |
| Sports authority · Municipalities | Medical checklist in event authorization |
Next steps
Interinstitutional technical working group → map of risk areas and checklist → pilot at one or two events → technical standard → law establishing the general obligation and referring the details to the technical standard.