“No, I won’t go!” Those words cost a patient her life and a paramedic his career. The most critical clinical decision a provider can make is not at the devastating wreck or the cardiac arrest; it’s during a patient’s refusal, the most common incident run by...
The demands placed on our EMS system aren’t what they used to be. HR, BP, RR and body temp. IV, O2, Monitor. ASA, NTG, Narcan, EPI. That’s where we feel most at home, even on a busy 8,12,24 hour shift. However when our ‘patients’ yell, curse and possibly become...
In this sue happy society governmental agencies with deep pockets are the perfect target. The fact is a service or provider can do everything right and still be successfully sued. Insurance companies, weighing risk and benefit, will most generally settle rather than...
Prehospital traumatic cardiac arrest is relatively rare and highly complex event that will challenge even the most skilled providers and resuscitation teams. This is further complicated by a shortfall of clear consensus guidelines to help EMS providers rapidly...
