A key principle in EMS system design is creating incentives that align the needs of patients and the community with what the ambulance services, medical first response agencies and 9-1-1 communications centers can provide. Simply put, it’s implementing positive consequences when the various organizations meet expectations and negative consequences when they do not. At a […]
The director of a medium-sized service in the Northeast told me a few weeks ago that “I just want some control. It feels like I’m constantly crashing into the rocks instead of being the rock for my team.” Reasons for chaos We are living and leading in a chaotic world. In EMS, the pressure takes […]
In a bit of a pendulum swing from earlier opinions, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Nov. 27, 2013, posted Advisory Opinion 13-18 disapproving a municipal request for proposals (RFP) arrangement for an exclusive ambulance contract. The OIG found that certain provisions of the proposed arrangement could violate the federal anti-kickback statute (AKS). This […]
It’s 9 a.m.—do you know how your EMS system is going to behave today? What about tomorrow, this week, this month? EMS managers too often fnd themselves leading in a day-today, minute-to-minute crisis mode, jumping from one priority of the moment to another. This leadership style can result in poor system performance, low employee morale, […]
Under federal law as well as some state laws, there exist two types of illegal harassment: (1) quid pro quo harassment, and (2) hostile environment harassment. While quid pro quo harassment (for example, a job benefit conditioned on sexual favors) is rarely an issue in the modern workplace, hostile environment harassment claims abound. Hostile environment […]
The National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA) has spent the past two years developing a set of national EMS officer competencies to provide future leaders with the tools they need to be successful. In the interest of the profession, the competencies will be made available to the entire EMS community, not just NEMSMA members. NEMSMA is […]
One of the many ways the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is revolutionizing our healthcare delivery system is by placing significant emphasis on the patient’s experience of care. Under the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) formula, hospitals receive performance-based bonuses or penalties based, in part, on the patient experience of care domain. Up to 30% […]
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently issued a report highlighting ambulance utilization trends over the past decade. This report contained some downright startling statistics, and sounds an alarm for some areas the OIG views as potential powder kegs of fraud and abuse. There can be little doubt […]
As we watch the endless chain of news articles, talking-head commentary, political pandering and pundits debate healthcare reform and its place in our future, I can’t help but take a giant step back, scratch my head and ponder how we got where we are today, while simultaneously laughing and thinking to myself, “You just can’t […]
The United States represents 4.9% of the world’s population, yet we consume 80% of the world’s production of opioids (Jim Avila, ABC World News, April 20, 2011). To many of us in EMS, this statistic is not a surprise. We have directly witnessed the increase of opioid overdose incidents, or we have seen the various […]
App Store Links
EMS Insider Newsletter
Inside Current Issue
Implementing a Health Information Exchange
Documentation Differences
SARS-Like Virus a Global Threat
Recall Alert
EMS Admin and Leadership
- Key Recommendations from the AHA CPR Quality Consensus Statement
- The Cinderella Story of the Memphis Fire Department’s EMS System
EMS News
- Three Dead in Shooting at Maryland Mall
- Three Dead, Over 20 Hurt in Indiana Pileup
EMS Training
- The Cinderella Story of the Memphis Fire Department’s EMS System
- Pass the EMS Profession on Through Mentoring
EMS Featured Articles
- How a Cautious Approach to TBI Patients May Help Reduce Incidents Second Impact Syndrome
- How to Recognize & Treat Heart Block