Greetings Everyone,
The University at Buffalo and UBMD are sponsoring a contest to verify AED locations in the 8 counties of Western NY. They will be hosting a launch party on October 16th at 4pm at the Medical School. You do not need to attend the launch party to participate in the contest. If you are interested in participating, you may follow the QR code on the flyer to register AEDs.
If you have any questions, please contact: rhondapa@buffalo.edu
http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AED-Initiative.pdf
Greetings Everyone,
The weekly data snippet for this week
NYS NEMSIS 3.5.0 | Educational Snip #2024-009
The 2024 Vital Signs EMS Conference is taking place in Rochester from October 16th to the 20th. Register here and stop by our booth to say hi! Next week, due to the conference, the DI Unit will not be sending an educational snip.
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.
Q: How have medication fields changed under NEMSIS 3.5?
Some element names and descriptions were changed. Response values were added/removed from three fields and 2009 standard names were removed.
Note: all fields are named by NEMSIS with the Field Name (Field Identifier) (e.g. EMS Agency Number (eResponse.01))
Medication Administered (eMedications.03, BLSFR 2472 ALFR & Transporting 2473)
This is a required field when a medication is administered. The list of medications has been updated to include codes for blood products. The inclusive list can be found here. Pertinent negatives are also available for this field including:
- Contraindication noted
- Denied by order
- Medication allergy
- Medication already taken
- Refused
- Unable to complete
- Order criteria not met
Medication Administered Route (eMedications.04, BLSFR 2474 ALSFR & Transporting 2475)
This is a required field when a medication is administered. The list was updated to enhance accuracy of documentation:
| Blow-by | Re-breather mask |
| Buccal | Rectal |
| Endotracheal Tube (ET) | Subcutaneous |
| Gastrostomy Tube | Sublingual |
| Inhalation | Topical |
| Intraarterial | Tracheostomy |
| Intradermal | Transdermal |
| Intramuscular (IM) | Urethral |
| Intranasal | Venti mask |
| Intraosseous (IO) | Wound |
| Intravenous (IV) | Porta Cath |
| Nasal Cannula | Auto Injector |
| Nasogastric | BVM |
| Nasotracheal Tube | CPAP |
| Non-Rebreather Mask | IV Pump |
| Opthalmic | Nebulizer |
| Oral | Umbilical Artery Catheter |
| Other/Miscellaneous | Umbilical Venous Catheter |
| Otic |
Medication Dosage Units (eMedications.06, BLSFR 2555 ALSFR & Transporting 2556)
This field is required when a medication is administered. Values have been removed and added to the list to enhance accuracy:
| Grams (gms) | Other |
| Inches (in) | Centimeters (cm) |
| International Units (IU) | Drops (ggts) |
| Keep Vein Open (KVO) | Liters per Minute (LPM) |
| Liters (L) | Micrograms per Minute (mcg/min) |
| Metered Dose (MDI) | Milligrams per Kilogram (mg/kg) |
| Micrograms (mcg) | Milligrams per Minute (mg/min) |
| Micrograms per Kilogram per Minute (mcg/kg/min) | Puffs |
| Milliequivalents (mEq) | Units per Hour (units/hr) |
| Milligrams (mg) | Micrograms per Kilogram (mcg/kg) |
| Milligrams per Kilogram per Minute (mg/kg/min) | Units |
| Milliliters (ml) | Units per Kilogram per Hour (units/kg/hr) |
| Milliliters per Hour (ml/hr) | Units per Kilogram (units/kg) |
| Milligrams per Hour (mg/hr) |
Role/Type of Person Administering Medication (eMedications.10, BLSFR 2735 ALSFR & Transporting 2736)
This field is required when a medication is administered. The list of roles has been updated to be more reflective of current State needs. The “2009” standard names have been removed.
| NYS Certified Paramedic | The Patient or Any Lay Person Not Otherwise Specified |
| NYS Certified First Responder (CFR) | Respiratory Therapist |
| NYS Certified EMT – Critical Care (EMT-CC) | Registered Nurse |
| NYS Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | Physician Assistant |
| NYS Certified Advanced EMT (AEMT) | Physician |
| Nurse Practitioner | Perfusionist |
| Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) | Other Non-Healthcare Professional |
| CT Technologist | |
| Any Provider Acting in the Capacity of an EMS Student | |
| Any Person Not Otherwise Specified (Not CFR) | |
| Any Healthcare Provider Acting Under their Own (Non-EMS) License |
Greetings Everyone,
Last night, our portal developer made some changes to the System that ultimately took some providers “offline”. Fortunately, this was not a very big list of providers, which is exciting to know we are following the WREMAC guidance. I realize that this might be a frustration for some of the providers or agency leadership to have to deal with this change that has occurred, but unfortunately over the years we have put to many bandaids on the system so it was no longer functioning correctly. Last night was a correction of those issues and I wanted to take a moment to explain a few things as we move forward with these changes. Going forward, if a provider does not complete their skills by the deadline of June 30th, it will automatically change your status. To prevent this from happening, please make sure that we are all completing the necessary skills by the due date annually.
One of the other changes that is going to occur sometime in the near future is we are changing the “Online / Offline” to “Compliant / Non-Compliant”. This is more reflective of what is actually occurring in regards to the WREMAC policies and contains a softer tone to providers status. While I do realize some of you find that the portal is pointless and an inconvenience, I do want to say that it does serve a needed purpose. Both the REMSCOs and Program agency are required to collect a a lot of the information that is contained in the portal. It also allows us to track certain expiration dates on your behalf to ensure that your agencies remain compliant with NYS.
Please be patient as we move through these changes. In regards to the recent status change, if you were moved to “offline” please get with your agency and work to correct the deficiencies. It is worth noting that unless you were specifically told by your Medical Director that you are offline, or your Provider card or CPR card is expired, you should not consider yourself “offline” because the portal said so. We understand there is going to be an adjustment period that we need to work through on this and with the changes we are not looking to shake things up.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your agency or us and we can see what we can do to answer those for you.
Thanks
Greetings Everyone,
A message from the State DOH:
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION – PLEASE DISSEMINATE WIDELY
Please find the attached Health Advisory regarding the EMS Supply Chain Disruption and Conservation Strategies Following the Closure of the Baxter Plant.
http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Health-Advisory-EMS-IV-Fluid-Conservation-24.10.09.pdf
Greetings Everyone,
Please see the below message regarding a quick survey on ET3:
Dear NYS EMTs and Paramedics,
Researchers at Mount Sinai are investigating prehospital provider experiences related to treat-in-place, alternative destination transports, and the recent CMS ET3 initiative. We ask agency leaders to please share with EMTs and Paramedics. Please consider completing the below anonymous survey to provide your feedback. The survey is designed to take less than 3 minutes. Any questions can be directed to samuel.sondheim@mountsinai.org.
Please click here to complete the survey.
Thank you,
Luis Castillo, EMTP and Samuel Sondheim, MD MBA