Med Control

How do you recieve treatment orders? Please explain in your post.


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Most is offline standing orders, but depending on the situation/call/event we've got the lovely online med control.

Sounds like the procedures around here. I love our 'no protocol-protocol'
 
We have both online med control and standing orders. Some of our protocols require us to contact med control before using that particular protocol. We can also call online for orders if we have an unusual situation and are wanting to do something not covered by protocol or if we need orders for things like additional pain meds.
 
Calif has interesting and tricky rules.

Surprising stuff can be granted to various levels of practice to do by their employers if they are certified, and if it meets some basic standards requiring certain licenses to make decisions or not. It allows them to pratice technique, not diagnostic decision making.

Example: if Kaiser Hospital decides they want LVN's to start IV's and hang blood, they can; however, since the LVN cannot legally make decisions to start that care, they have to have an order from a MD or other qualified professional including NP's, PA's, and potentially RN's. The certification can be in-house if it meets professional standards.

My department's RN standardized procedures are organized by region of the body, plus "endocrine", "trauma", "chemical dependence", and a couple others to fast track care. You assess, you pick the set of SP's meeting the criteria and making sense, then you do them; the MD/NP/PA has to countersign them within 24 hrs (72 in some cases if no MD available). SP's based on diagnoses, instead of constellations of signs and symptoms, other than generalized ones like "trauma" or affecting known preextant conditions(asthma and diabetes) are not legal because they presume the nurse can make a medical diagnosis...which in reality you are doing to some extent weven when as an EMT you are looking at an angulated arm and splinting it. Tricky sands to tread.;)
 
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