Open Letter to Peoria Medical Society--2004
Open Letter to Peoria Medical Society---January 6, 2004
Jan 6, 2004
Subject: Open Letter to Peoria Medical Society
Peoria’s new city manager, Randy Oliver, is organizing a commission to study emergency medical services (EMS)in the city of Peoria. The editorial board of the Journal Star pleads for a fiscally responsible decision regarding these services. As physicians, you need to insist that both fiscally and medically responsible choices are made for the pre-hospital patient.
The EMS services in Peoria are provided by two agencies. Advanced Medical Transport (AMT) provides the only advanced life support service and transport of patients. This company is supported by Peoria’s three hospitals and governing boards. AMT grosses over $7 million per year and desires a ten-year contract to remain the only paramedic and transport agency in Peoria. The second agency is the Peoria Fire Department. The fire-fighters can provide only basic life support and are not permitted to transport patients. The firefighters arrive quickly at the scene of an emergency and are supported by the citizens of Peoria.
The Peoria Medical Society needs to consider the following questions: Who will compile and interpret the statistics regarding local EMS care? Where are the run sheets covering the past ten years located? What EMS issues will be analyzed?
For example, what is the response time for the Peoria Fire Department versus AMT to the scene of an emergency? How much time elapses from the 911 dispatch call until the electrical shock is administered to a patient in full cardiac arrest? When AMT arrives at the scene and begins their advanced life support, have the patients waited longer than necessary? What percentage of Peorians survive and walk out of the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest? Are Peoria’s trauma patients transported quickly and efficiently with the “scoop and treat” philosophy? How does Peoria compare to other cities in the United States and Canada that have state-of-the-art EMS for their citizens? And might it not be responsible and medically important to allow the Peoria firefighters to advance their skills (such as improved airway control and IV medication administration)to improve patient outcomes?
The most important question is: Can Peoria’s EMS system be studied in an independent and unbiased fashion? The same doctors, administrators, and boards of directors that made questionable decisions ten years ago are still in absolute control today. Can individual board members answer any of the quality of care questions posed above?
Thus, you the Peoria Medical Society, need to do exactly what the first sentence of your mission statement professes: To promote the health and general welfare of the Peoria public. Peoria’s pre-hospital patients have never been in a more perilous situation. Encourage city manager Oliver’s study to ask the correct questions and answer them using scientific rigor. Then and only then will fiscal and medically appropriate decisions be made regarding EMS in Peoria.
Subject: Open Letter to Peoria Medical Society
Peoria’s new city manager, Randy Oliver, is organizing a commission to study emergency medical services (EMS)in the city of Peoria. The editorial board of the Journal Star pleads for a fiscally responsible decision regarding these services. As physicians, you need to insist that both fiscally and medically responsible choices are made for the pre-hospital patient.
The EMS services in Peoria are provided by two agencies. Advanced Medical Transport (AMT) provides the only advanced life support service and transport of patients. This company is supported by Peoria’s three hospitals and governing boards. AMT grosses over $7 million per year and desires a ten-year contract to remain the only paramedic and transport agency in Peoria. The second agency is the Peoria Fire Department. The fire-fighters can provide only basic life support and are not permitted to transport patients. The firefighters arrive quickly at the scene of an emergency and are supported by the citizens of Peoria.
The Peoria Medical Society needs to consider the following questions: Who will compile and interpret the statistics regarding local EMS care? Where are the run sheets covering the past ten years located? What EMS issues will be analyzed?
For example, what is the response time for the Peoria Fire Department versus AMT to the scene of an emergency? How much time elapses from the 911 dispatch call until the electrical shock is administered to a patient in full cardiac arrest? When AMT arrives at the scene and begins their advanced life support, have the patients waited longer than necessary? What percentage of Peorians survive and walk out of the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest? Are Peoria’s trauma patients transported quickly and efficiently with the “scoop and treat” philosophy? How does Peoria compare to other cities in the United States and Canada that have state-of-the-art EMS for their citizens? And might it not be responsible and medically important to allow the Peoria firefighters to advance their skills (such as improved airway control and IV medication administration)to improve patient outcomes?
The most important question is: Can Peoria’s EMS system be studied in an independent and unbiased fashion? The same doctors, administrators, and boards of directors that made questionable decisions ten years ago are still in absolute control today. Can individual board members answer any of the quality of care questions posed above?
Thus, you the Peoria Medical Society, need to do exactly what the first sentence of your mission statement professes: To promote the health and general welfare of the Peoria public. Peoria’s pre-hospital patients have never been in a more perilous situation. Encourage city manager Oliver’s study to ask the correct questions and answer them using scientific rigor. Then and only then will fiscal and medically appropriate decisions be made regarding EMS in Peoria.
John Carroll, M.D.
Comments
Post a Comment