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 |
Patient safety and accurate documentation will continue to be imperative for providing optimal patient care. In order to provide this standard of care for all patients, both national patient safety goals and the JCAHO have focused on handing off patients between caregivers. The standard of care should be the same for any healthcare providers in that the most accurate and important information be communicated at the time of patient care delivery. Prehospital care providers often have unique and important information regarding medications, LOC, therapeutic interventions and any difficulties they encountered enroute. A delay ofup to 24 hours to share this information is an extremely poor reflection of the value of the information that EMS providers contribute to patient care management.