The problem of measuring a pulse. A heart rate is the rate at which a heart beats. A pulse rate is the actual count of that heartbeat creating an actual, physically determinable felt pulse. Electrical heart rate and peripheral pulse are not always the same. Measuring a physical pulse can give us important information about the health of a patient, such as signaling that a person has an infection or is dehydrated. For emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) in particular, the pulse rate can tell us about the potential severity of the patient’s condition and what type of prehospital help is needed...
DOES USE OF THE COMPRESSIONS MONITOR DIAGNOSTIC TOOL BY EMDs ENHANCE THE ABILITY OF CALLERS TO PERFORM CPR? Yes! When used with Pre-Arrival Instructions, the Tool significantly improves callers' ability to achieve high-performance CPR compression rates. The earlier, the better. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is both pervasive and deadly. The American Heart Association (AHA) estimates more than 356,000 OHCAs occur in the United States per year. Of these cases, about 90% are fatal. Bystander CPR can save the life of an OHCA patient—however, time is of the essence. It has been said that...
SHOULD WE ASK CALLERS "IS ANYONE PINNED (TRAPPED)?" DURING MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS (MVAs)? We should! The question directs callers to pay attention to what matters most. For a traffic collision, the higher the speed of the vehicle, the higher the chances an occupant suffers severe injuries. After a serious crash, the absorbed kinetic energy can cause the vehicle to deform significantly, displacing parts of the vehicle into the interior. This displacement frequently limits an occupant's ability to move or be removed. When there is need for extrication, deformity and damage hinder an occupant's...
IS THERE A STANDARD OF CARE AND PRACTICE FOR EMERGENCY DISPATCH? Yes! Ignorance of the standard is no defense. Over time and through litigation, concepts have evolved into a standard that reflects society's expectations of an emergency dispatch system. Emergency services and public safety agencies without this standard in place should be prepared to defend their practices in court—and in the court of public opinion. Ignorance of the standard is not a reasonable defense; both the courts and the public use it to judge emergency communication centers, municipalities, and individual dispatchers...
ANATOMY OF A CPR CALL WITH BARRIERS Redacted Call Transcript Craig Sturgess of Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (Wales, U.K.) received this CPR call in 2016. He encountered and expertly managed over 40 barriers on this nearly 17-minute call. He naturally balanced providing care and comfort to the patient, the patient's wife, and their neighbors—never placing the care of one over the care of all. In addition to the training he had received, this balancing act demonstrated an innate ability to provide brilliant and compassionate situational awareness. Faced with barriers that did not have...
DO CPR CALLS HAVE BARRIERS? Yes! EMDs can anticipate and manage them. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique. It involves getting "hands on chest" to perform compressions that manually pump blood and oxygen to vital body organs. Early CPR dramatically increases a patient's chance of survival. Dispatcher-Directed CPR (DD-CPR) can and does work. It has been a formal part of Emergency Medical Dispatch since the late 1970s. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that up to 50% of bystander CPR occurs because an emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) provided DD-CPR...
CAN EMDs USING MPDS SAFELY IDENTIFY LOW-ACUITY ILLNESS AND INJURY? Yes! By asking questions in order and as written. Designed to Determine: Low-acuity illness and injury are non-urgent medical conditions and symptoms. The Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) prioritizes emergency dispatch by illness and injury acuity. In order to use the system, Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) are trained to identify a caller's Chief Complaint, with particular attention to four priority symptoms: chest pain, alertness, breathing problems, and serious hemorrhaging. EMDs ask callers exactly...
DOES USING THE STROKE DIAGNOSTIC TOOL MATTER? Yes! It saves time and brain. Strokes interrupt blood supply to part of the brain through blockage or bleeding. The length of time a stroke interrupts the supply determines the amount of brain damage caused. Quickly restoring normal blood flow to the brain is critical, requiring smart identification and timely response. Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) provide smart identification by knowing and recognizing stroke symptoms as callers describe them. This can be challenging when stroke symptoms change or mimic other conditions. EMDs strengthen...
