Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Virginia Department of Health

State Board of Health

Virginia Emergency Medical Services Regulations [12 VAC 5 ‑ 31]

Action	Amend current regulations to include new regulations as a result of legislative changes and changes in the practice of EMS.
Stage	Proposed
Comment Period	Ended on 3/19/2010

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2/18/10 4:42 pm

Commenter: Joseph P. Ornato, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University

EMS documentation

I have a serious concern with the following section in quotes:

“12VAC5-31-1140 12VAC5-31-1140. Provision of patient care documentation.

EMS personnel and EMS agencies shall provide the receiving medical facility or transporting EMS agency with a copy of the prehospital patient care report for each patient treated, either with the patient or within 24 hours.”

I serve as an Operational Medical Director for several urban/suburban EMS agencies as well as chairman of emergency medicine at a major level 1 medical center. It is inexcusable to allow EMS providers up to 24 hrs to leave detailed, critical, patient care documentation at receiving hospitals. Since the advent of the electronic prehospital record transition, hospitals are frequently being left with NO written documentation of vital information that is adversely affecting patient care --- all due to the “we have 24 hrs rule” above. Examples – 1) cardiac arrest patients – no initial rhythm, downtime interval, whether the arrest was witnessed/bystander CPR; 2) STEMI patients – no prehospital ECGs left, no time of initial chestpain onset; 3) stroke patients – no written documentation of initial neurological findings or time of onset. The current OEMS “24 rule” is resulting in rampant abandonment of patients and discontinuity of critical patient care. I urge OEMS to REQUIRE EMS PROVIDERS TO LEAVE EITHER THE FULL PRINTED ELECTRONIC PPCR OR AN ABBREVIATED WRITTEN SHORT FORM THAT CONTAINS CRITICAL INFORMATION WITH RECEIVING HOSPITALS.

CommentID: 11302