Brett Patterson
Good afternoon:
Hope all is well. I was referred to the both of you on a question I had on an EMD code. When utilizing Protocol 25: Psychiatric/Abnormal Behavior/Suicide Attempt and the patient is presently threatening to jump and is not alert, the EMD code in ProQA® is 25-B-4. Is there a reason why the EMD code shouldn’t code for the not alert patient as a 25-D-1 [D-3 in the current v13.2]? I want to make sure I didn’t find a “glitch” in the protocol as well as if there is a purpose for this that I provide the correct information for the BRAVO response vs. the DELTA. Thank you for your time and have a great day!
Michelle Haynes
EMD Quality Performance Improvement Coordinator
Weld County Regional Communications
Greeley, Colorado, USA
Hi Michelle:
Great question. Nothing gets by your eyes!
This default has to do with the response code as the “Jumper (threatening)” code recommends both police and fire notifications, and the likelihood of a threatening jumper being not alert is low. If you select the D-1 “Not alert” code [D-3 in the current v13.2], the threatening jumper remains unknown in the code. In essence, the emergent safety needs of the threatening jumper take precedence over the not alert medical condition in this scenario.
Does that make sense?
Was this a real case or a speculative one?
Brett Patterson
Academics & Standards Associate
Chair, Medical Council of Standards
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch®
Brett:
This makes perfect sense. We had a patient that was threatening to jump previously but was now back inside the house and was not alert. So we didn’t have this situation, but as a result of the call it sparked curiosity, and I ran some test calls “switching it up a bit.” Thanks for your time.
Michelle
