Anecdotally, numerous MPDS® (Priority Dispatch Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)-user agencies in the USA, Canada, UK, and Brazil have reported that the emergency caller has difficulty understanding the key question (KQ) “Is s/he completely alert?”
Lavonne C. Hall, president and CEO, and Mark Corum, director of media services, discuss the history of Hall Ambulance Service. Hall Ambulance is based in Bakersfield, California, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. They talk about how it started and the milestones it’s achieved along the way.
Research on motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) is robust, though most focuses on prevention and treatment. Emergency medical experts now recognize telecommunications' vital role in the chain of survival; however, MVA research on telecommunicator impact on the MVA is limited. This study seeks to address that gap in research, examining the relationship between Emergency Medical Dispatch codes and on-scene findings. The objective of the study was to characterize all cases (based on determinant codes) triaged using the Medical Priority...
Acute stroke is one of the five time-dependent conditions (first hour quintet, FHQ) that emergency medical services (EMS) must manage better and faster; early identification and treatment are critical to reduce both immediate damage and long-term disability. For Emergency Medical Communication Centers, the rapid and accurate identification of stroke patients is the challenge to be won in the coming years. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the ability of Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) and rescuers to rapidly and...
Alertness is important to assess during many medical emergencies; however, assessing alertness proves difficult in a non-visual emergency dispatch environment. Little is understood about how to best gather an accurate report of patient alertness during an interaction between callers and Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs). The primary objective of the study was to compare two versions of a Key Question (KQ) intended to gain an accurate report of alertness, to determine whether either demonstrates a higher degree of caller...
Utah Valley Dispatch Special Service District is located in Spanish Fork, Utah, and provides centralized dispatch services for police, fire, and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies in Utah and Juab counties. All 45 dispatchers working in the center are certified in CPR, Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD), and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). These dispatchers are trained to give lifesaving instructions to callers during emergency medical situations. At the time of the call, the EMD was on her fourth week of training and taking 911 emergencies as well as...
Rapid identification of sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and delivery of bystander chest compressions in patients with ventricular fibrillation are key elements in the chain of survival. However, time to bystander compressions can be greatly affected by a wide variety of barriers, some beyond an EMD's control. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the impact that barriers have on the time taken to achieve bystander compressions for suspected OHCAs. This retrospective, quantitative cohort...
Isabel talks with Dr. Mike McEvoy, EMS Coordinator for Saratoga County. They discuss common myths about bystander and responder potential for opioid exposure, the symptoms of an opioid overdose, and how to keep callers safe...
Isabel talks with Jamie Foster, a trainer for the South Western Ambulance Service in the U.K. They discuss what "transgender" means, which medical protocols are impacted by the caller's gender, and how the EMD can balance getting the right information with giving good customer service...
The Emergency Medical Dispatcher's (EMD's) selection of the most appropriate Chief Complaint Protocol is one of the most important elements in emergency dispatching. Choosing the correct Chief Complaint ensures that the correct information is gathered, the correct instructions and help provided, and the right resources sent. The selection of the MPDS Sick Person Protocol is often one of the most difficult for EMDs. The primary objective of this study is to compare the EMD's selection of the Sick Person Protocol with on-scene...
