Most Common EMD Determinants Associated with Downgrade of ALS Incident to BLS Transports Include Critical Dispatches in a High-Volume Two-Tier EMS System
Roger M. Stone, MD, MS, T. A. Burns, MS, NRP, R. Furst, AA NRP, A. Butsch, MA, NRP
Oct 12, 2020|Research Posters
EMS agencies often have a critical shortage of available advanced life support (ALS) assets. Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) protocols are designed to sort calls with a reasonable safety margin yet not over triage calls as requiring ALS assets. In some two-tier deployments, a downgrade to BLS is available to allow ALS to return to an available status. The Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service (MCFRS) is an all-hazard combination system that provides a tiered emergency medical service response and transport in urban/suburban/rural settings. MCFRS responds to 94,000 medical incidents and...