Hospital Notifications: Easy And Quick?

[x635 4,066]

Just wondering how everyone communicates with the hospital for medical control and notification?

Personally, I think depending on cell phones suck. There are many cell dead areas, especially when you really need it.

I think I'm correct in saying that the NYS HEAR radio system is pretty much defunct and obsolete, and wondering if anyone knows anything about a new version being considered.

In CT and MA, they have CMED, which makes it easy to get a note or med control channel via radio.

In other areas, dispatchers make the notification...and by doing this in some ways, give away the confidentiality that a patient is supposed to have.

Also, are there any hospitals that don't require EMS notification on everyday kind of stuff? Or is there anyone using fancy technolgy to accomplish this?

Hospital communication should be quick and easy...best setup I've seen was in Boston EMS's ambulances. They have headsets, which allow you to keep your hands free and easily hear the other end, and knee and foot switches to key the mike. Also, a dispatchers connects you with a hospital when and where you request. I've also seen other systems that do it via a computer transmission to the ED's computer.....can't get any easier then that.

Edited December 30, 2006 by x635

[OoO 24]

I know Dobbs Ferry Hospital is currently notification by phone only, which can be a hassle.

[nycemt728 49]

In my agencies, the few times notes are given, they are always done through dispatch via a land line. The only time cells are used is if we are operating w/o a dispatcher. I too dislike the use of cells and consider it a backup, nothing more.

What I do find is that certain only trauma centers are receptive to notifications. I have had other hospitals hang up on my dispatcher in the middle of a note or give me blank stares and have no staff or equipment ready when I walk in with a signifigant case. As far as I am aware, NYC does all notes through dispacthers, and the only communication between hospitals and road crews is on the cell for OLMC w/ medical directors.

I wonder if the breakdown is overusage; in school I don't recall being taught 2 types of notes, yet on the road there seems to be 2 types of notes, emergency and courtesy. (i.e. we're coming in with a obese patient, or our patient has slightly irregular vitals yet appears stable). If a hosptial recieves a great deal of these a day, where the response would be a simple acknowledgment, could it turn them off to the more important calls?

In a larger metropolitan area such as NYC, I think the current system is adequate, and while it could benefit from things such as Boston's comm system, I think this would be of greater help in rural areas where longer tx's are the norm.

Edited December 31, 2006 by nycemt728

[vodoly 535]

Our Police desk usually calls the ER If requested by the ambulance

[Guest]

All hospitals that i transport to have to be notified, regardless of the case. 99.9% of the communication is done via the HEAR radio on the ambulance, i will call in (via cell) a case if i cant get the ED on the radio. I tend to find that if, for some reason, i was unable to call in the ED staff gets pretty pissy and unpleasant, i try to avoid that :|

[ems-buff 81]

good old white plains. I use the hear channel when i go to white plains or the med center. just b/c one i like it and to like it was said in the other post's cell phone are sometimes not working right.. While we are on the subject does anyone know what hosptials still you the hear channels. and if 60 control still monitor the channel.

[foreman1923 22]

where i work unless you have a life threatening problem you dont have to make a note and if you do you give all the info to the dispatcher over the radio and they will land line the hospital

[SWEMCC70 0]

I work in Southwest CMED in the lower portion of Fairfield County. Medical Control notifications/requests can be made first over one of our dedicated frequencies to the various hospitals in our area. If for some reason the unit in the field is in a bad area they are told to call into our center and we can phone patch them to the hospital. We try to get the units to go directly through us, do to the fact that all phone lines and radio channels are taped in the center. This way if something ever happens with the call later on, a request can be made by the agency in question to have our boss pull the tape and make a copy of it for review. If a unit in the field calls directly to the hospital, there's no way to retrieve the calls conversation. We can advise the hospital if requested by a unit in the field to give them a heads up of what's happening on a call and that the unit would contact them shortly. We are not allowed to take orders from the doctor at the hospital and then to give them to the unit in the field. This is more to protect us in case we hear something and relay it incorrectly.

[Oswegowind 17]

I know that at Empress we used to call in on the cell phone. Unless you worked with a buff and had a vhf radio and wanted to annoy Lawrence Hospital by encoding and talking over the radio.

My opinion is that if the patient can go to triage (i.e. 75% of taxi rides) than there is no reason to notify... just bring em in and sign em up to be seen. If it is serious and they need to be ready, or have to call in specialty services than definitely give them the courtesy call. Remember, these Emergency Rooms are regularly busy and the nurses and doctors time can be better spent on the patients than on the phone with some emt who is giving vitals about a urinary tract infection patient that couldn't get their own ride!!!!!!!

[John Meeker Jr 0]

I was taught that every transport to every hopsital gets a note about 5 min out. What the ED does with that information is up to them. I was told that it is my choice as to radio or cell and prefer cell. I don't do radio often enough to be familar with the toning out to open the line and am more comfortable with the cell.

[mikerabbit 2]

White Plains Hospital always has their HEAR radio on and appear to be appreciative of notifications. 99% of the time they know who you are, what you have, and what bed you are going to when you walk through the door, as long as they are not overflowing.

BTW: With the new 60 Control radios being installed in all ambulances, will the hospitals have radios to communicate with units in the field wether it be medical control, or notifications?

[ems-buff 81]

BTW: With the new 60 Control radios being installed in all ambulances, will the hospitals have radios to communicate with units in the field wether it be medical control, or notifications?

←

I heard something along the lines of the new system to have the capability to be like a MED Channel radio with Telemetry useses. As well as have the same basics of the HEAR system.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I think it depends on where you are and what you are used to. I know the new trunking radio system has county hospitals in the B bank of channels. How this is going to apply I do not yet know. I only use the cell phone for sensitive cases where privacy is much more important, i.e, rape, police officer, etc. and when I need orders. If I can't get through I will use HEAR as a last resort for orders and if all else fails I go with experience and protocol for communication failure.

I know the following hospitals use HEAR:

HVHC

Phelps

Med Center

Dutchess county both St. Francis and Vassar use radios on the frequency assigned by Dutchess 911.

[Skooter92 7]

Northern West still has their HEAR radio working-try bringing in one without a heads-up! Putnam's HEAR radio works on 155.340 instead of .220-works real well. I'm pretty sure St. John's HEAR works-does Lawrence or St. Joe's still work?

[Guest]

I work up in Rochester, and we generally only call in for OLMC or to tell them that we are coming in with any patient who is going to require alot of resources (ie: any patient that is brought to the hospital Code 3).

The other time we call in is something that I am really excited about. At one of our hospitals (Strong Memorial at URMC) we can call ahead to the triage nurse with any stable basic patients and take them directly to the waiting room. We leave these patients in the care of the triage RN (not just stuffed in a corner), and this alleviates the lines at EMS triage which can grow to the point that we stand for over an hour waiting for a bed assignment. This is will also hopefully teach chronic EMS abusers that an ambulance is not a ticket to the front of the line when you call 911 with a chief complaint of "cold feet" or "I want a pregnancy test".

[IzzyEng4 427]

I worked for CMED New Haven for over 4 years (ex-296) and our system is pretty much the same with notifications as the other C-MEDs over the radio. Rule of thumb is if it is a trauma or a unit needs orders (als or bls) you patch to the nearest hospital and the doctor will decide if they take the patient or not or for the appropriate medical orders, of course there are certain things that do go to the nearest hospital regardless aka cardiac arrests (100's in CT terms) or trauma arrests (200's in CT terms).

CMED New Haven (South Central) operates on on dispatch channel (MED 10) and uses all eight med patch channels each being regional specific. With this if there is a unit in Ansonia and the patient is requesting Yale in New Haven, we have three available channels that the Ansonia unit can use while enroute to the hospital. We use a router to patch the hopsital radio line to any med-tower in our region. You can patch a unit coming from Wallingford to Milford Hospital if we had to.

With this it is easy for a unit located at a scene to patch to the receiving hospital (say trauma) before they go enroute. We also had a rule that you should patch when you area at least 5 to 10 minutes out to give the hospital ample time to expect the patient but many times the blinders are on in the field and a patch is done at the back door. We also were able to patch a phone call to the ER direct phone as well from field units.

[trauma74 111]

Up here in Orange County the H.E.A.R. radio system is alive and well. 155.340 & 155.400 are used depending on which hospital you are going to. You MUST make notification to the hospital for any type of medical/trauma/psych patient otherwise you will get chewed out by the ER staff.