By Doug Wolfberg & Steve Wirth We all know federal privacy regulations limit the use and disclosure of patient information by EMS agencies that are “covered entities” under HIPAA. But how does HIPAA apply to the mass casualty incident (MCI) where there are multiple victims, our resources are taxed and the situation isn’t as controlled […]
By Michael Touchstone, BS, EMT-P As supervisors, managers and leaders, we have a responsibility to participate in preparing our practitioners for practice. Likewise, we have a responsibility to participate in succession planning. We should be preparing practitioners who want to grow professionally to fill supervisory, management and leadership roles. There are various classes available and […]
By Pascal Rodier, MA, MStJ The unfortunate situation exists today that if you were to go out into any crew room and ask the average paramedic whether they would ever aspire to be a supervisor or an officer one day, they would probably laugh out loud. We have to ask ourselves why that is. Although […]
By Gordon Graham I thought it was a bit odd when I first saw name of this publication: EMS Insider. I was wondering what A.J. Heightman was thinking when he asked an “outsider” (I have only been a recipient of EMS services, not a provider) to write something to be read by the “insiders.” But […]
By Jeffrey Hammerstein Hi, nice to meet you. I was just elected to your local board of commissioners. In just a few weeks I’ll be making decisions that affect whether your department grows and prospers, struggles to hold onto status quo, or degrades and actually starts slipping backwards. I’m the new guy, and I’m holding […]
By Keith Widmeier Specialty certifications are prevalent throughout healthcare. When you think about different areas of healthcare, consider how much exists outside the realm of initial education. EMS is no different. Since we have strayed so far from our trauma roots of the ’60s, the profession has branched in several directions. In the U.S., we […]
By Michael T. Metro Threats can turn into opportunities with strategic planning. A potential threat to your ambulance reimbursement rates needs your action now. Recently, there has been much talk regarding the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; P.L. 111-148) on pre-hospital care and EMS. Many have said there will be […]
By Allison J. Bloom, Esq., & Matthew M. Womble, MHA, Paramedic From the publication of the “EMS Culture of Safety” document to the uptick in interest and adoption of “Just Culture” methodologies, there has been a lot of warranted discussion about safety culture in EMS.1 While the healthcare industry has formally adopted patient safety as […]
By Stephen M. Peluse, BA, FP-C, NREMT-P Our capability to provide adequate pre-hospital care to citizens in need across the country has become greatly diminished. Depleted volunteer numbers and lack of adequate career staffing levels have impacted our ability to provide high quality care. The current staffing shortages in EMS have taxed our response system, […]
The National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO) has announced a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a comprehensive set of EMS performance measures. “We’re excited because measuring performance is the first step toward improving it,” said NASEMSO Executive Director Dia Gainor. “Developing a set of performance […]
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