A recent decision from the Illinois Supreme Court demonstrates the willingness of the court to uphold immunity for EMS in a case involving an ambulance accident (Wilkins v. Williams, 2013 IL, 114310, 991 NE 2d 308, 372 Ill.Dec.1). On Nov. 14, 2005, Rhonda Williams was driving an ambulance transporting a non-emergency patient. Her partner, Vernette […]
On September 24, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a report regarding the utilization of Medicare ambulance transports. The department reviewed payment requests for transports during the period of 2002 to 2011 and found that the number of Medicare ambulance transports increased 69% (from 8.7 million to […]
Using clinical data to improve patient outcomes has become the new mantra in EMS. The same evidence-based decision-making process should apply to operations, says Todd Stout, founder and president of FirstWatch, a software company that specializes in real-time, public safety data analysis and automated alerting. A longtime EMS practitioner and manager, Stout learned the value […]
On September 24, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a report regarding the utilization of Medicare ambulance transports. The department reviewed payment requests for transports during the period of 2002 to 2011 and found that the number of Medicare ambulance transports increased 69% (from 8.7 million to […]
Less than one year after launching operations, Falck has laid off nearly the entire staff of its Northern California office, replacing them with personnel from the recently purchased Verihealth. On July 12, Falck officials and new Falck Northern California (Falck NC) Chief Executive Officer Gary Tennyson informed employees of the Falck-branded division, based in Concord, […]
(Editor’s Note: The following is part two of a two-part series. Part one was published in the September issue of EMS Insider.) In part one, we discussed the evolution of spinal immobilization protocols used by most EMS systems and the increasing evidence that shows they often do more harm than good. In this part, I’ll […]
On June 17, Skip Kirk-wood, M.S., J.D., NREMT-P, EFO, CMO moved less than 25 miles east to begin his first day as the director of Durham County EMS, in Durham, N.C. In addition to his responsibilities for the management of the entire EMS system, he directly supervises a staff of 112 in nine locations and […]
A new Office of Inspector General (OIG) Advisory Opinion that has absolutely nothing to do with EMS may nevertheless help light the path for a new future in our industry. On Aug. 16, 2013, the OIG issued Advisory Opinion 13-10, which will fast become one of the more important opinions from the OIG in the […]
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement says that, “Improving the U.S. health care system requires simultaneous pursuit of three aims: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of health care.” The prediction is that healthcare organizations that fail to pursue all three legs of this Triple Aim will […]
Despite different backgrounds, successful EMS professionals share some common characteristics: They understand both how to move forward in their careers and how to make a positive impact on their EMS agency, system or even EMS as a whole. And yet they are limited by how few structured avenues exist to follow as they move up […]
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