There is plenty of talk about “evidence-based procedures” in EMS lately. Well, today I read an interesting article that shows a link between being busier and better patient outcomes. Okay…, now after reading that statement, what just happened to your heart rate? Was your automatic response to click the link in order find fault so you can dismiss the finding, […]

Ideas often take time to saturate a market. Even if the idea is generally recognized as a good one, complete with compelling evidence, change can still take time.  As a current example, how many agencies still have a protocol for complete spinal immobilization on a long spine board for “any fall” or “significant impact”?  On that very […]

While naloxone (marketed under various trademarks including Narcan) is not a new drug, it has enjoyed some incredible news coverage recently as the “safe antidote” for opioid abuse that can bring an overdose victim back “from the dead” simply and safely with “no side effects.” The surge in its popularity is undoubtedly fueled by a growing problem of opioid drug abuse, especially in the […]

I’m sure that the interested audience for the new Ferno iN/X “power stretcher” was smaller at FDIC 2014 than it would have been if it were released in time for the EMS Today conference earlier this year. But maybe that was a good thing for me because, even though the booth was still crowded, I […]

I like lists. They are typically neat and definitive. I am sure that my friend @ChecklistMedic would agree that they also help bring order to the chaos that often defines our work in the field. For those of us trying to leverage social media to keep current on EMS thought (or Community Paramedicine or Mobile Integrated Healthcare), […]

I started out with the basic trauma shears that cost only a couple of dollars, but soon realized I wanted something a little more “substantial” and upgraded to the basic titanium shears I currently carry. They do the job adequately, but there are some other interesting options out there and I am looking for some […]

Even if you do not subscribe to the idea of such significant change to subsidized out of hospital care, there are other potentials for community involvement that will pragmatically improve the effectiveness of emergency care such as empowering bystanders to act.

In the past several months, I have seen articles challenging standard practices toward intubation and c-spine immobilization – basic tenets of our practice – but how many agencies have made any significant investigation toward change in these protocols?

One aspect of improving performance is responding appropriately in less time – not necessarily just responding “faster.” Technology must be evaluated by “outcome” just as patient treatments are being qualified and improved.

While there were many comments on the question of “what does High Performance EMS mean to you?”, I would like to focus on the assertion that measuring response time is not an �evidence-based� practice.