Proper evaluation of products, services & ideas starts with asking the right questions If you’re like most leaders in EMS, you ask, and get asked, lots of questions. Should we buy automatic CPR devices for each rig? Should we add a bariatric rig to our fleet? Should we quit intubating and switch to supraglottic airways? […]
When is a plan a good plan? Whether it’s uncompensated care, decreased tax revenues or insurance companies taking a harder line on reimbursement for care and service, EMS agencies across the nation are faced with declining revenues. EMS providers have been asked to cut budgets and to do “more with less,” while still maintaining a […]
Regardless of the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or our last election, EMS is facing significant changes in how we operate. Even before last year’s outcomes, the “good old days” were already falling by the wayside due to the economic crisis that we all have experienced. We are slowly beginning to understand that we just can’t keep doing things the same way because that’s the way we’ve always done them. Our elected officials and citizens are demanding we do more with less, and the rest of the healthcare industry is also facing the same dilemma.
How does an EMS leader keep perspective when bad things happen? The very first thing to ask: Compared to all of the things that have happened, are happening, and could happen in my leadership role, how bad is this? Is it something that will impact the rest of my career? Is it temporary? Although the pain may not feel temporary, it usually is. It’s important to get perspective.
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a landmark report, “Emergency Medical Services: At the crossroads,” which identified systemic problems in EMS.1 Although strong federal funding in the 1970s fueled the initial development of EMS systems at the state and local levels, the withdrawal of comprehensive federal funding of the 1980s led to haphazard growth and implementation of EMS systems across the country.
Quality efforts in many EMS organizations tend to focus on two aspects of performance:
1. Reviews are made of individual cases to ensure care was in compliance to the process design (protocol); and
2. Efforts are also made to ensure performance of the organization was compliant to a wide variety process design standards, such as response interval requirements.
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a landmark report, “Emergency Medical Services: At the crossroads,” which identified systemic problems in EMS.1 Although strong federal funding in the 1970s fueled the initial development of EMS systems at the state and local levels, the withdrawal of comprehensive federal funding of the 1980s led to haphazard […]
Quality efforts in many EMS organizations tend to focus on two aspects of performance: Reviews are made of individual cases to ensure care was in compliance to the process design (protocol); and Efforts are also made to ensure performance of the organization was compliant to a wide variety process design standards, such as response interval […]
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued an advisory opinion addressing the important issue of what constitutes a reasonable allocation of payment when a BLS transport provider jointly responds with an ALS non-transport agency and submits a “bundled bill” to Medicare. Such arrangements have become […]
If the “S” in EMS stands for service, then we all need to be reminded that service is built on relationships. It involves relationships between caregivers and patients, caregivers and medical directors, and administrators and coworkers. Relationships at the national level between EMS advocacy groups have been problematic in the past decade. Multiple federal agencies […]
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