Rob McCartin

Greetings Everyone,

Please see this weeks NEMSIS mini-education snapshot:

NYS NEMSIS 3.5.0 | Educational Snip #2024-007

The Data and Informatics (DI) Unit at the Bureau of EMS & Trauma Systems is sending weekly Educational Snips highlighting various NEMSIS fields. Our goal is to help providers reduce documentation errors and warnings requiring adjustment throughout documentation. Each Educational Snip will start with a question, an outline of various fields, and elements (answers) within those fields. We are providing the NEMSIS named elements; the ePCR software used by your EMS agency might look different, and you should have custom values selected by the Department of Health available to you. If you have questions about specific documentation scenarios or if you would like clarification on particular data elements, please reach out to your organization’s leadership, Regional Program Agencies, or the DI Unit.

EMS agencies credentialed by New York State are now submitting ePCRs that adhere to the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) 3.5 documentation standard. NEMSIS establishes a minimum documentation standard that requires fields that must be completed on an ePCR and NYS further defines these requirements to meet minimal additional requirements. Standardized documentation improves quality documentation. Measuring provider effectiveness, system efficiency, and patient outcomes is paramount to the success of EMS organizations across New York State.

The DI Unit is holding monthly NEMSIS 3.5 ePCR briefings via Webex. In these briefings, issues that EMS agencies commonly face regarding patient care documentation will be addressed. EMS providers will have the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any concerns about 3.5 submission criteria they wish. Feedback from these briefings is vital for their ongoing success. If you are an EMS provider, an EMS leader, an EMS medical director, or a software vendor who attends these meetings, please fill out a survey through this link, under the ‘Data and Informatics’ section of the page.

Q: How has documentation of eSituation fields changed from NEMSIS 3.4 to NEMSIS 3.5?

6 elements were changed from NEMSIS 3.4 to NEMSIS 3.5. 5 of the elements are Required in New York State and 1 is a Recommended element.

Note: all fields are named by NEMSIS with the Field Name (Field Identifier) (e.g. EMS Agency Number (eResponse.01))

Date/Time of Symptom Onset (eSituation.01, validation rule 1365)

This is a required field in NYS and must be documented for each symptom recorded. In NEMSIS 3.5, new values were added to this field for Pertinent Negatives: ‘Unable to Complete’ and ‘Approximate’. The format of the date is as follows: mm/dd/yyyy. The format of the time is as follows: hh:mm:ss.

Initial Patient Acuity (eSituation.13, validation rule 1377)

This is a required field in NYS. A new value was added to this field. The list of values for this field is shown below:

• Critical (Red)
• Emergent (Yellow)
• Lower Acuity (Green)
• Dead Without Resuscitation Efforts (Black)
• Non-Acute/Routine

Date/Time Last Known Well (eSituation.18, validation rule 1378)

This is a required field in NYS when primary impression is CVA, which stands for Cerebral Vascular Accident, or TIA, which stands for Transient Ischemic Attack. In NEMSIS 3.5, a new Pertinent Negative was added: Unable to Complete

Justification for Transfer or Encounter (eSituation.19)

This field is recommended in NYS. It is a new element released with NEMSIS 3.5. This should only be documented when Type of Service Requested (eResponse.05) is Hospital-to-Hospital Transfer, Hospital-to-Hospital Transfer (with Sending Hospital Staff), Hospital-to-Hospital Transfer (Critical or Specialty Care), Other Medical Needs Transport, or Mobile Integrated Health Care Evaluation or Visit.

Reason for Interfacility Transfer/Medical Transport (eSituation.20)

This is a national field. There is no validation rule requiring it in NYS. New elements were added in NEMSIS 3.5. The full list is shown below:

• Cardiac Specialty
• Convenience Transfer (Patient Request)
• Diagnostic Testing
• Dialysis
• Drug and/or Alcohol Rehabilitation Care
• Extended Care
• Maternal/Neonatal
• Medical Specialty Care (Other, Not Listed)
• Neurological Specialty Care
• Palliative/Hospice Care (Home or Facility)
• Pediatric Specialty Care
• Psychiatric/Behavioral Care
• Physical Rehabilitation Care
• Return to Home/Residence
• Surgical Specialty Care (Other, Not Listed)
• Trauma/Orthopedic Specialty Care