Role of the Communications Center During Disasters and With EMS

For the same reasons that prehospital EMS dispatch systems might not be ideally suited for coordination of interfacility transports, a transport dispatch center is often not designed to manage EMS communications.

Figure 5.5: Sample Follow-up Correspondence

Date: 00/00/00

Dear Dr._____________________ :

Thank you for referring your patient, Johnny Doe, for transport to Children's Hospital on 00/00/00. Johnny was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with a preliminary diagnosis of bronchiolitis.

For further information, you may contact the PICU attending physician through the hospital's page operator at (555) 555-5555. If you have difficulty contacting the appropriate physician, please contact Dr Ambulance, medi­cal director for the neonatal-pediatric transport team, at (555) 444-4444.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and your patients. If you have questions or comments about our transport services, please contact us at the following numbers or e-mail addresses:

Emergency Communications Center: (800) 888-KIDS (5537)

Medical Director: Dr Ambulance (555) 444-4444

E-mail address: dr.ambulance@childrens.transport.edu

Transport Team Coordinator: Teresa Transport, RN/EMT (555) 333-3333

E-mail address: teresa.transport@childrens.transport.edu

Communications Center Supervisor: Terry Telephone, EMT (555) 222-2222

E-mail address: terry.telephone@childrens.transport.edu

We would appreciate your completion of the enclosed brief survey about our service and return in the enclosed self-addressed envelope.

Sincerely,

Children's Hospital Neonatal-Pediatric Transport Team

enclosure

ED indicates emergency department; EMTs, emergency medical technicians; RN, registered nurse; EMS, emergency medical services; OR, operating room; ETA, expected time of arrival.

services. Nevertheless, the transport dispatch center can be used to coor­dinate communications and to notify receiving providers of a patient’s imminent arrival.

In a disaster, hospitals are frequently overwhelmed by phone calls and inquiries from families, friends, employees, and the media. Incorporation of the dispatch center into the institution’s disaster response system can provide additional resources for fielding such phone calls. In addition, the dispatch center can notify other hospitals and ambulance services that “routine” emergency patients should be diverted to other institutions during the time standard resources are limited. The dispatch center often has valuable infor­mation about other facilities, including bed capacity and contact persons and phone numbers.

Consideration for alternative forms of communication may be vital in preparing a communication center for the potential loss of land- based telecommunications. Satellite-based communication capability allows com­munication centers to assist with patient movement during local or national disasters. Having the ability to continue the functions of the communication center from alternate locations may be necessary depending on the disaster. This requires advanced preparations on the part of those responsible for the coordination of the communication center to ensure that the systems in place are periodically tested to ensure their functionality. Back-up sources of power (battery) may maintain communication ability for short periods of time until complete switching of phone lines and services is achieved.

Reference:

1. WordNet [database]. Princeton University. Available at: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/ perl/webwn?s=communication. Accessed April 23, 2013

Selected Readings

Fultz JF, Coyle CB, Reynolds PW. Air medical referring customer satisfaction: a valuable insight. Air Med J. 1998;17(2):51-56

Position statement of the Air Medical Physician Association: Patient Follow-up Letters and HIPAA. Available at: http://www.classiclifeguard.com/documents/HIPAAPOSITIONfollowup. pdf. Accessed April 23, 2013

Stanhope K, Falcone RE, Werman H. Helicopter dispatch: a time study. Air Med J. 1997;16(3): 70-72

Thomson DP, Thomas SH. Guidelines for air medical dispatch. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2003;7(2): 265-271

Lerner EB, Nichol G, Spaite DW, Garrison HG, Maio FR. A comprehensive framework for determining the cost of an emergency medical services system. Ann Emerg Med. 2007;49(3): 304-313