City ponders extra $6.5 million paid for paramedics over basic EMTs

[CAOX3]

I dont even get this article. Half of your calls for service wound up in no transport?

Of the 50,000 calls 35,000 required ALS. What? 65% ALS call volume in an urban area?I highly doubt that.

 

[el Murpharino]

I dont even get this article. Half of your calls for service wound up in no transport?

Of the 50,000 calls 35,000 required ALS. What? 65% ALS call volume in an urban area? I highly doubt that.

From the article: "In 2008, the Division of Fire responded to 110,739 medical calls. Of these, 35,028 were taken to the hospital needing advanced life support and 17,370 required basic care. There were about 50,000 runs during which no one was transported."

The figure is more like 31% that needed ALS, not 65.

 

[CAOX3]

I think the percentage of ALS transports would be derived from the actual number of transports. Not the number of calls for service.

I would think.

 

[el Murpharino]

I think the percentage of ALS transports would be derived from the actual number of transports. Not the number of calls for service.

I would think.

I'm not an EMS statistician, but in statistics class, I considered the total sample size and went from there. As long as we both know what page of music we're on...

 

[CAOX3]

I'm not an EMS statistician, but in statistics class, I considered the total sample size and went from there. As long as we both know what page of music we're on...

I hated statistics and probability......Not my cup of tea.

It would be interesting to know the formulas they used, or any city for that matter, to come up with these statistics.

 

[PotatoMedic]

I hated statistics and probability......Not my cup of tea.

It would be interesting to know the formulas they used, or any city for that matter, to come up with these statistics.

You know 90% of statistics are made up on the spot!

(sorry could not resist...) ((I really need to go to bed.. ))

 

[Juxel]

(Side question, can NPs and PAs do the EMTALA mandated screening exam?)

Short answer is yes. Long answer is that it's up to each individual organization. EMTALA does not define who must perform the exam other than to say a "qualified medical person" and it leaves it up to each organization to define that as they see fit.

Physicians are the obvious choice, but my organization allows NPs and PAs to do it with the provision of making docs accessible should we want to consult. Some organizations choose to limit a "qualified medical person" to strictly a doc, others will let a nurse midwife do OB patients, others let NPs and PAs handle cases.

It does open you up to further liability as an organization, but the benefits certainly outweigh the risks, at least for an organization such as mine.