Q&A
Clarification on patient transfer protocols for EMTs and paramedics
1:27:50
·
61 sec
Council Member Joann Ariola requests clarification on the differences in patient transfer protocols between EMTs and paramedics. Chief Michael Fields explains the distinctions based on the level of care provided.
- Paramedics provide advanced life support and can perform procedures like IV access, medication administration, and intubation
- Paramedics must transfer patients who received advanced care to a nurse, doctor, or other higher medical authority at the hospital
- EMTs cannot receive transfers from paramedics due to their lower level of medical training
- FDNY places Hospital Liaison Officers (HLOs) in emergency rooms to facilitate transfers
Joann Ariola
1:27:50
Chief, if you could just clarify, you spoke about how EMTs cannot transfer and paramedics.
1:27:57
Can you just just kind of, like, break that down a little bit for us, the transfer once they get to the hospital, how they're able to leave and who isn't?
Michael Fields
1:28:04
So so our paramedics are advanced life support.
1:28:07
They deal with advanced life support measures such as IV access, administration, IV medications, they intubate, they utilize CPAPs, and the litany of other things that they do.
1:28:19
If they have a patient who has receive any of those types of treatment.
1:28:23
When they come to the emergency room, they have to transfer that patient either over to a nurse, higher medical authority, or a doctor, higher medical authority.
1:28:31
Inside the emergency, we wanna place HLO which is hospital liaison officer, which is 1 lieutenant, as well as 2 EMTs.
1:28:40
So that paramedic transport unit, if they did ALS treatment, cannot transfer that patient over to the EMTs because their medical training is less than the paramedics.
