HMP Global’s Post

Which medical emergency calls require an immediate ambulance response with lights & sirens, and which ones can be safely held in a queue, or even referred to a nurse navigation line or mobile integrated health program? I’ve spent a good part of my adult life thinking about this question from many different angles – responding to emergencies on an ambulance at Samariterbund Wien, getting richer data to 911 centers at RapidSOS, building situational awareness applications for comm centers at RapidDeploy, and introducing the next generation of longitudinal patient care reporting at ESO. Now I’m adding another angle to this – my first involvement in academic research alongside Dr. Matthew Levy (The Johns Hopkins University), Brent Myers, MD MPH, Remle Crowe, PhD and several other EMS thought leaders. This study represents the largest number of linked MPDS Protocols and Determinant levels associated with both EMS interventions and emergency department outcomes conducted to date. "Dispatch Categories as Indicators of Out-of-Hospital Time Critical Interventions and Associated Emergency Department Outcomes" is now published in Prehospital Emergency Care, and shines a light on some really interesting insights. Turns out when you look at hospital outcomes and time-sensitive interventions, not all ALPHA codes are safe to hold. For more detail, see the link below. https://lnkd.in/g564MUsM NENA: The 9-1-1 Association APCO International International Academies of Emergency Dispatch

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gC-g4KKn Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gC-g4KKn Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gNhJbjFM Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

When preparing for your hospital's urgent and emergency care system's CQC inspection, think Patient FIRST. It's worth checking the CQC's own website. The format we inspect on is actually published and can be downloaded from the appendices of the Patient FIRST support tool on the CQC's website. I strongly recommend appendix 2. We also use national guidance related to UEC, such as RCN, RCEM, RCPCH, NHSE and NICE guidance to expand on any of the themes described in the appendix. You can deviate, but we'd have to understand why and how you're mitigating any risk resulting from deviating. 🔗👇

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gC-g4KKn Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gC-g4KKn Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

Report: Phoenix VA patient died after waiting 11 minutes for emergency care. The Phoenix VA Health Care System was heavily criticized in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) report for its inadequate response to a medical emergency. A patient, who had just left a urology appointment, collapsed outside the facility. It took up to 11 minutes for the patient to receive basic care, only after the Phoenix Fire Department arrived. The patient later died at a community hospital. The OIG highlighted deficiencies in the initiation of emergency care, the quality of care before the emergency, and the completion of quality reviews. This report follows a decade after a major scandal at the Phoenix VA where veterans died while waiting for care, highlighting ongoing issues. The report indicated that staff did not initiate a rapid response or call VA police, citing procedural constraints as the patient was technically outside the building. The OIG criticized this policy misalignment with VHA requirements for patient safety and emergency response. Additional issues included conflicting policies, insufficient CPR training for staff, and limited access to defibrillators. Faults were also found in the patient’s prior care, including the failure to order a cardioverter defibrillator and omission of vital signs during the medical appointment. https://lnkd.in/gNhJbjFM Unfortunately, as someone who has dealt with the Phoenix VA for nearly a decade, these problems seem to plague the VA year after year. Until there are policies that prioritize the lives of veterans, it appears the VA has learned nothing from the major failures dating back to 2014. #VeteranCare #HealthSystemReform #MedicalEmergency

This is a great position statement on EMS system performance. If the quality of the care is poor or the wrong resources are sent to patients just to get there as fast as possible it is a disservice to our patients. Money is part of the problem, but not the solution and not always a means to the solution. We need to design systems around evidence-based quality metrics and data. Not just how fast we want to get to calls and how many calls I can make some handle in 8 hours. That conversation starts with Boards, Councils, and other elected officials. If you say you need more money it’s not enough to just say you want it to improve response times or because you can recruit and retain more providers. Unless the current management culture in EMS improves all the money in the world will produce a well funded version of the broken system we currently have. Discuss with your constituents and elected officials what that additional funding will do to improve their outcomes, and think of ways to improve the culture you promulgate to your staff. This funding can help us provide COPD and Asthma patients with the evidence-based care bundle faster by…. This funding can increase our ability to divert patients to more appropriate treatment options through…. This funding can help us improve our cardiac arrest system of care through increased community CPR programs, which will also increase the equity of bystander CPR…. We can do better, and as leaders we must to do better. For our providers, our profession, and our patients.

🔔 Historical Highlight: EMS Systems Act Signed 🔔 The EMS Systems Act, officially known as the "Emergency Medical Services Systems Act of 1973," was signed into law on September 4, 1973. This legislation was a significant step in the development of modern emergency medical services (EMS) in the United States. The act provided federal funding to help states and localities develop and improve their EMS systems. It aimed to create a more coordinated and efficient emergency response infrastructure by supporting the establishment of regional EMS systems, the training of emergency medical personnel, and the development of communication networks. The act also encouraged the standardization of EMS practices and the integration of emergency care from the scene of an incident through transport to a hospital. Before the EMS Systems Act, emergency medical services were often fragmented, with significant variations in the quality and availability of care across different regions. The act sought to address these disparities and ensure that people in all parts of the country could receive timely and effective emergency medical care. The passage of the EMS Systems Act marked a turning point in the professionalization and modernization of EMS, leading to the development of the sophisticated and coordinated systems that are in place today. Photo credit: Baltimore Fire Department