Pulsara Blog

As a medic, you never know what your next call could be. Of all healthcare providers, your job is often the most unpredictable. Some types of calls are much more straightforward than others...and sometimes, the ones you might have less experience on—such as pediatric or OB-GYN calls—can be nerve-wracking. How do you turn the calls that scare you into calls you feel confident heading into? 

Pulsara's Vice President - Medical OPS, Brandon Means, teamed up with EMS1 to produce an original video series of critical paramedicine tips and techniques, called Progressive Paramedic. In this week's video and blog post, we throwback to Brandon's paramedic days as he reviews the three reasons why it's important to be a lifelong learner in EMS. Check it out below!

On February 19th, 2021, the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) published a new guideline on Intravenous Thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke. 

The new guideline comes from a study aimed at providing evidence-based recommendations to help physicians make clinical decisions regarding intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke. Published in the European Stroke Journal, the new guideline is the first in a series of around 10 that are expected to be published in 2021. 

The new guideline makes forty specific recommendations for stroke treatment. The authors of the study outlined the 8 they consider the most important, which are quoted as follows: 

During time-sensitive emergencies, sharing data between EMS and the hospital is a vital part of patient care. EMS contacts the hospital via radio report to share information about the patient’s condition and vital signs, letting hospital staff know what to expect when the patient arrives on their doorstep. EMS and the hospital both comply with HIPAA guidelines, and sharing details about the patient’s condition is simply considered an essential part of providing the best possible care for that patient.

But once the patient has been admitted and EMS needs outcome data from the hospital, suddenly the information sharing process isn’t quite as clear. Many hospitals get nervous about the thought of sharing patient data or PHI with EMS agencies.

Why?

HIPAA.

Several healthcare emergencies are unique to EMS. However, much of prehospital and out-of-hospital medical practice is based on standards from other disciplines of health care. Over the years, we’ve attempted to apply science from traditional medicine that fits in the setting of an emergency department or ICU, not necessarily in the back of the ambulance.