Patient outcome followups...

[skyemt]

i was wondering what different agencies do about following up on a patient that is dropped off at the hospital...

i think a big part of learning is seeing if you were on the right track, or learn about differential diagnoses if something else was going on, and learn from it...


what do other agencies do??

 

[Arkymedic]

i was wondering what different agencies do about following up on a patient that is dropped off at the hospital...

i think a big part of learning is seeing if you were on the right track, or learn about differential diagnoses if something else was going on, and learn from it...


what do other agencies do??

We do not have policy but I personally do it with just about all my patients. I especially do this if I am unsure as to what the hell was going on with the pt.

 

[skyemt]

Arky,

what do you do exactly... just ask the ER doc's next time you are there?
are they forthcoming?

have you found it to be very helpful?

until now, we don't really do followups... i'm trying to change that, because i feel kind of "in the dark" about what was really going on...
tough to learn and improve that way, i think...

 

[Lisa]

Sometimes

I personaly don't follow up with every single patient. But, I like some others will follow up if the pt has something weird going on. I usually follow up on pretty bad car accidents.

 

[Arkymedic]

Arky,

what do you do exactly... just ask the ER doc's next time you are there?
are they forthcoming?

have you found it to be very helpful?

until now, we don't really do followups... i'm trying to change that, because i feel kind of "in the dark" about what was really going on...
tough to learn and improve that way, i think...

I will ask the nurse what the diagnosis was and if they were admited or not. If its something I had some questions on I will talk to the doc and see if there is something I might have missed or could have tried. I also usually am interested in what else was done in hospital. I am really big on personal QI and personal growth as a medic. If I have a pt sent to a burn center or trauma center I will call the center and speak with the nurse taking care of pt. I will identify myself as a Paramedic, the service, and that I took care of (the pt by name) and they won't give me a lot but they will tell me if the pt is stable or not and how progress is going. Then I'll speak with the pt and find out how they are doing and let them know I am praying for them. Sometimes like earlier this yr I had a double electrocution at a church of some guys in their later twenties and early thirties. I sent a card to the pts at the burn center a couple of days later. About a week later the 25 y.o. died of infection on the same day the other guy got released.

It also helps with my own process of dealing with grief and stress.

 

[BossyCow]

Does your agency offer a run review with the MPD? We have a monthly review of calls with any EMS personnel who wishes to attend and some mandated by their agency that they must attend. They won't cover all the calls in depth, but the MPD picks a few of his favorites. If there is a call that you have questions about, they go over it at that time with the input of the MPD and your peers. It can be brutal but it's also informative.

 

[Ridryder911]

One of the flight services I worked at had a mandated 48 hr follow-up. This was nice to find out their outcome, and diagnosis. This also could enhance Q.I. In my current service, we have a close working relationship with the staff, and since we are part of the care and use it for continuing follow up HIPAA is not a concern.

R/r 911

 

[So. IL Medic]

Arky,

what do you do exactly... just ask the ER doc's next time you are there?
are they forthcoming?

I'll do exactly that. If they've been moved to ICU, I'll walk across the hall and ask the staff there. If you have a good working relationship, they will be very helpful. If they don't know me, I'll introduce myself, state I was the medic that brought them in and was wondering how the pt was doing. I've never had a problem and it can be a good check if you were unsure of your differential.

 

[Arkymedic]

Does your agency offer a run review with the MPD? We have a monthly review of calls with any EMS personnel who wishes to attend and some mandated by their agency that they must attend. They won't cover all the calls in depth, but the MPD picks a few of his favorites. If there is a call that you have questions about, they go over it at that time with the input of the MPD and your peers. It can be brutal but it's also informative.

I wish we did have.