Outcome of Trauma Patients Immobilized by Emergency Department Staff, but Not by Emergency Medical Services Providers: A Quality Assurance Initiative

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel R. Tello ◽  
Darren Braude ◽  
Lynne Fullerton ◽  
Philip Froman
1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth F. Mock ◽  
Keith D. Wrenn ◽  
Seth W. Wright ◽  
T. Chadwick Eustis ◽  
Corey M. Slovis

AbstractHypothesis:To determine the type and frequency of immediate unsolicited feedback received by emergency medical service (EMS) providers from patients or their family members and emergency department (ED) personnel.Methods:Prospective, observational study of 69 emergency medical services providers in an urban emergency medical service system and 12 metropolitan emergency departments. Feedback was rated by two medical student observers using a prospectively devised original scale.Results:In 295 encounters with patients or family, feedback was rated as follows: 1) none in 224 (76%); 2) positive in 51 (17%); 3) negative in 19 (6%); and 4) mixed in one (<1%). Feedback from 254 encounters with emergency department personnel was rated as: 1) none in 185 (73%); 2) positive in 46 (18%); 3) negative in 21 (8%); and 4) mixed in 2 (1%). Patients who had consumed alcohol were more likely to give negative feedback than were patients who had not consumed alcohol. Feedback from emergency department personnel occurred more often when the emergency medical service provider considered the patient to be critically ill.Conclusion:The two groups provided feedback to emergency medical service providers in approximately one quarter of the calls. When feedback was provided, it was positive more than twice as often as it was negative. Emergency physicians should give regular and constructive feedback to emergency medical services providers more often than currently is the case.


2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 54S-61S
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fix ◽  
Amy I. Ising ◽  
Scott K. Proescholdbell ◽  
Dennis M. Falls ◽  
Catherine S. Wolff ◽  
...  

Introduction Linking emergency medical services (EMS) data to emergency department (ED) data enables assessing the continuum of care and evaluating patient outcomes. We developed novel methods to enhance linkage performance and analysis of EMS and ED data for opioid overdose surveillance in North Carolina. Methods We identified data on all EMS encounters in North Carolina during January 1–November 30, 2017, with documented naloxone administration and transportation to the ED. We linked these data with ED visit data in the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool. We manually reviewed a subset of data from 12 counties to create a gold standard that informed developing iterative linkage methods using demographic, time, and destination variables. We calculated the proportion of suspected opioid overdose EMS cases that received International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes for opioid overdose in the ED. Results We identified 12 088 EMS encounters of patients treated with naloxone and transported to the ED. The 12-county subset included 1781 linkage-eligible EMS encounters, with historical linkage of 65.4% (1165 of 1781) and 1.6% false linkages. Through iterative linkage methods, performance improved to 91.0% (1620 of 1781) with 0.1% false linkages. Among statewide EMS encounters with naloxone administration, the linkage improved from 47.1% to 91.1%. We found diagnosis codes for opioid overdose in the ED among 27.2% of statewide linked records. Practice Implications Through an iterative linkage approach, EMS–ED data linkage performance improved greatly while reducing the number of false linkages. Improved EMS–ED data linkage quality can enhance surveillance activities, inform emergency response practices, and improve quality of care through evaluating initial patient presentations, field interventions, and ultimate diagnoses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-280
Author(s):  
E. A. J. van Rein ◽  
D. Jochems ◽  
R. D. Lokerman ◽  
R. van der Sluijs ◽  
R. M. Houwert ◽  
...  

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Davis ◽  
Anthony J. Billitier

AbstractObjective:The concept of the necessity of a good quality assurance (QA) plan for emergency medical services (EMS) is well-accepted; guidelines as how best to achieve this and how current systems operate have not been defined. The purpose of this study was to survey EMS systems to discover current methods used to perform medical control and QA and to examine whether the existence of an emergency medicine residency affected these components.Methods:A survey was mailed in 1989 to the major teaching hospitals associated with all of the emergency medicine residency programs (n = 79) and all other hospitals with greater than 350 beds within the 50 largest United States metropolitan areas (n = 172). If no response was received, a second request was sent in 1990. The survey consisted of questions concerning four general EMS-QA categories: 1) general information; 2) prospective; 3) immediate; and 4) retrospective medical control.Results:Completed surveys were received from 78.5% of residency and 50% of non-residency programs. The majority had an emergency medicine physician as medical director (80.1% vs 61.5%, p = .03). While both residency and non-residency hospitals participated in initial public and prehospital personnel education, academic programs were more likely to be involved in continuing medical education (98.2% vs 82.3%, p = .009). On-line (direct) supervision was more likely to be provided by residency institutions (96.4% vs 81.0%, p = .017) which was provided by a physician in 88.3%. Trip sheet review was utilized by 62.0% of non-residency and 75.5% of residency programs responding, and utilized the paramedic coordinator (44.5% vs 46.1%) or medical director (35.7% vs 34.5 %) primarily.Conclusion:This survey characterizes some of the current methods utilized nationwide in EMS-QA programs. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of these various methods, and to develop a model program.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document