FEMA Handbook for EMS Medical Directors: Stakeholders, Becoming a Director, Oversight, Dynamics, Staffing, Dispatch, Search and Rescue, Hazmat, Education, Standards, Best Practices, Ambulance Service

The purpose of this handbook is to provide assistance to both new and experienced medical directors as they strive to provide the highest quality of out-of-hospital emergency medical care to their communities and foster excellence within their agencies. The handbook will provide the new medical director with a fundamental orientation to the roles that define the position of the medical director while providing the experienced medical director with a useful reference tool. The handbook will explore the nuances found in the EMS industry—a challenge to describe in generalities due to the tremendous amount of diversity among EMS agencies and systems across the Nation.

Contents: Chapter 1 * The EMS Agency and Its Stakeholders * Overview * EMS History * The Modern EMS System * EMS Agency Design Types * Multiple-Role EMS Agency * Single-Role EMS Agency * Hospital-Based EMS Transport Agency * Private EMS Agency * Third-Service EMS Agency * Public Utility EMS Agency * EMS Agency Staffing Types * Career * Volunteer * Combination * Types of Response Service * Single-Tier Response Service * Tiered Response Service * Resource Deployment * Fixed Deployment * Dynamic Deployment * Emergency Medical Dispatch * Emergency Response Components * Disasters or Multiple and Mass Casualty Incidents * Technical Rescue or Medical Search and Rescue * Special or Mass Gatherings Events * Hazardous Materials * Wildland * Tactical EMS * Chapter 2 * Becoming a Medical Director * Role and Purpose of the Medical Director * Scope of Responsibility * Education and Training of the Medical Director * Postgraduate Education * State Requirements * Consensus Standards and Professional Associations * Agency Training * Continuing Education for the Medical Director * Affiliation Agreements * Hire/Employee * Independent Contractor * Memorandum of Understanding and Memorandum of Agreements. * Performance Expectations * Compensation and Benefits * Workers' Compensation * Continuing Education * IRS Requirements * Dissolution * Liability Coverage * Medical Malpractice Coverage * Errors and Omission Coverage * General Liability Coverage * Directors' and Officers' Coverage * Indemnification * Areas of Caution for Medical Directors * Hiring and Promotional Decisions * Provider Disciplinary Actions * Budget and Procurement Regulations * Conflict of Interest Considerations * Chapter 3 * Agency Oversight * Workforce Oversight and Supervision * Provisions of Patient Care * Protocols * Standing Orders * Online Medical Direction * Offline Medical Direction * Medical Director in the Field * Incident Command System * EMS Scope of Practice * Education Standards * National EMS Educational Standards * EMS Provider Continuing Education Program Development * Provider Competency Verification * Performance-Based Organizations * Quality Improvement * Types of Quality Improvement * Six Sigma in EMS * HIPAA and Quality Improvement * Performance Measures * Benchmarking * Best Practices * Ambulance Service Accreditation * EMS Research * Health and Safety of Medical Directors and Providers * Patient Safety * Chapter 4 * Agency Dynamics * Ambulance Service Certificate of Need * Public Relations * Media Inquiries * EMS Advocacy * Credentialing in EMS * EMS Education Program Dynamics * Accreditation of Education Programs * Certification of Providers * Recertification of EMS Providers * Agency Compliance Considerations * Collective Bargaining Agreements * Right to Work States * Industry Regulations and Standards * Fiscal Management Issues * Budgeting * Federal and State Funding Sources * Local Funding Sources * Agency-Level Funding Sources * Revenue Recovery Sources * Funding for Medical Directors