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 […]
In my role in the EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), I have had the opportunity to write numerous articles about all things EMS. From responder safety and personal protective equipment to technological advances in professional development and education, my goal has been to jumpstart a conversation, not within just fire-based […]
By Paul LeSage & Mike Taigman Every once in a while, you’ll run across a patient care report that causes your blood pressure to spike, your pulse to double and your “I’m going to fire someone” trigger finger to get itchy. We were reviewing some charts last week when one launched my sympathetic nervous system […]
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 […]
The Michigan House of Representatives recently passed a religious freedom bill that could potentially support emergency medical personnel to exercise religious objections to treating gay patients. When I first read this, my first question was, how would we even know if a patient is gay? How did this arise, and why now? I generally don’t […]
Over the past several years, various cities (including Seattle, Portland, Eugene, San Francisco, Jersey City, New York and Washington, D.C.) have enacted paid sick leave laws. In addition, California and Connecticut now have state-wide paid sick leave laws on the books. These laws, while having the common goal of providing guaranteed paid time off for […]
In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Mo., and other situations calling into question the conduct of police officers, hundreds of police departments nationwide are equipping their officers with body-worn cameras. Should EMS providers also have them? The improved technology and low cost certainly make body cameras a viable option for many EMS agencies. […]
Previous articles have addressed the issue of whether a health club is required to provide an AED, and whether a “big box” store (such as Target or Walmart) is required to so.1 Although courts in general have been unwilling to find a legal duty for a business to have an AED on hand, the Florida […]
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