The Star of Life's six bars represent the six phases of an emergency call;

1. Detection of the ill or injured;
2. Reporting of the illness or injury and Emergency Medical Dispatch interaction;
3. Response of the prehospital EMS team;
4. On-scene care of the ill or injured patient by the EMS team;
5. In-transit care of the ill or injured patient by the prehospital EMS team;
6. Transfer to definitive care: (a) systematic transfer of care and responsibility from the prehospital EMS team to the emergency department EMS component, (b) evaluation & treatment by the hospital EMS component, (c) transfer of the patient to the necessary medical specialty - such as cardiology or surgery.