The company i work for doesn't allow bls to carry a pulse ox or even a AED, something seems really wrong about this considering they do back up the 911 system contracts, plus do general transports across state...
Well when i was working bls it would have been nice as a tool in the bag as a option. i asked management why they didnt have them they stated that its really not needed. but if we have a whole box of them laying around why not it helps. the whole AED thing is under "management review" aka bs
You would think that they would have AEDs for sure.
Pulse Oximetry for what? If the patient is short of breath it is treated with oxygen at the BLS level and you don't need a oximetry for that. If the patient is not showing any signs of dyspnea then why would they administer medication? Sure you could argue for a baseline saturation but treatment is priority number #1. I have watched on scenes patients go untreated while people struggled to get saturations when it was obvious that the patient was struggling.
I just thought since they have them why not allow BLS to use em. In one of our contracted cities i know they throw a fit if we do not put everyone on ETCO2, among things they like to :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: about.
I know several people have brought up the AED issue and seem to get pushed under the rug. Maybe its a Rural metro thing.
Stop with that line of thinking right now. The line of "it's there so why don't we do it" or "I have it so I'm going to use it" leads to multiple problems, many of which you'll see in EMS today.
It's not about what we have, could have, or could do, but what the patient actually needs that matters.
Negative. In some areas it is up to the county or medical director on what equipment is carried. For the first year that I worked BLS we did not have AEDs on our units until the county made it a mandatory item.
If monitoring a pulse ox is not in the EMTs scope for that area going out and buying one is a good way to get you fired and your card pulled.
Actually, until recently there were parts of CA where not only was an AED not required on a BLS unit, but they were not allowed to have them in the first place. As backward as this seems seeing as Walmart, the gym, airport, and malls all have them but an ambulances can not??? From what I hear that has changed and they are allowed to carry them.
Pulse ox is seemingly simple to use and needs some gaining and experience to know what it all really means. It would need to be integrated into protocols to be useful use of time and money.
