A trio of state legislators wants to get a better handle on how New Jersey's first responders are responding to medical emergencies, including instances when residents are suffering from opioid overdoses.
A trio of state legislators wants to get a better handle on how New Jersey's first responders are responding to medical emergencies, including instances when residents are suffering from opioid overdoses.
The lawmakers hope to establish a system to track and analyze the services provided by emergency medical services personnel and dispatch centers, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes and reaping savings.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem) and Senate Health Chairman Joseph F. Vitale (D-Middlesex) introduced Bill S5 late last month, requiring ambulance services, mobile intensive care units, air medical services and both volunteer and non-volunteer rescue squads to report vital information to the Department of Health.
Assembly Health Chairman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-Burlington) and Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlan (R-Monmouth) are sponsoring a similar bill in their chamber.
O'Scanlan summed up the philosophy behind the legislation most concisely.
Statewide database of ambulance responses could be on way
"You can't improve what you don't measure," he said in a statement.
One laudable goal of the bill is to expedite hospitals' receipt of EMS triage reports, which would help make health care professionals aware of an incoming patient's needs for treatment - and thus better equip them to act promptly once the patient arrives.
The bipartisan measure would require EMS workers to include such data as the date, time and location of every encounter, the nature of the emergency and the outcome of the incident.
"In light of the rampant opioid epidemic, now more than ever we need a reliable, responsive EMS system that works seamlessly with hospitals to ensure emergency care leads to the best possible patient outcomes," O'Scanlan noted.
The bill is designed to help identify trends in particular types of interventions - such as using opioid antidotes such as naloxone in cases of overdose - as well as to pinpoint the geographic areas in the state where incidents are taking place.
Under the measure, the Health Department will be required to furnish EMS providers and dispatchers - free of charge - any software or programs the department develops to access and use the electronic reporting system.
If the plan works as its sponsors envision, the savings resulting from this enhanced data collection will offset any costs that come with implementing the system.
Enhanced electronic reporting, using the latest technology, makes good sense. A move toward clarity in providing emergency care is welcome at any time, but especially now, when bitter debate about the future of health care continues to paralyze the nation.
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