Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 15 - Mississippi Department of Health
Part 8 - Office of Health Policy and Planning
Subpart 90 - Planning and Resource Development
Chapter 05 - Acute Care Facilities and Services Overview
Section 15-8-90-05-517 - Systems of Care

There are three systems of care: the Trauma Care System, the ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) System, and the Stroke System. Mississippi is one of only six states that has multiple acute systems of care and is the only state that has statewide systems for trauma, STEMI, and stroke.

Each system of care has five key components: an organizational structure, protocols for the transport and transfer of patients, an advisory group process, a performance/quality improvement process, and a data collection system. These components work together to accomplish the ultimate goal of the systems - to deliver the right patient to the right hospital the first time, an approach shown to improve outcomes.