May 21, 2012

10 extremely useful on-line EMS resources

I find myself constantly browsing the internet for information related to EMS. Whether it be from my home computer looking for study material, or from my phone looking up information on a poison while on scene of a call. I can pretty much find anything I need within minutes, if not seconds. There are a number of sites that I have found to be extremely useful that I visit time and time again. So I figured I would share them with you.

Paramedicine 101

I stumbled across this site a couple months ago. It is an amazing resource for information related to EMS. I wish I would have known about this site when I was going through paramedic school.

Everyday EMS Tips

Greg Friese does a wonderful job of providing good tips for people that work in EMS. He does app reviews for EMS related smart-phone apps, book reviews and even gives advice on doing interviews for your next job. Greg has also has an e-mail newsletter that I find quite useful. If you haven’t checked out his site, do so now.

Epocrates

Epocrates is any medical professional’s dream. It is a limitless on-line medical resource, and contains tons of great information for free. The best part is that they offer free smart-phone apps. It is currently available for iPhone, Palm, Blackberry, Windows and my favorite, Android. If you have a smart-phone and haven’t taken advantage of Epocrates, you are missing out.

EMS Educast

The EMS Educast is a really cool podcast aimed at providing useful tips to the EMS professional. This is one of those podcasts that I pull up on my phone and listen to while I’m driving or sitting on a street corner at work. Definitely a must for everyone!

MedicCast

Jamie Davis AKA “The Podmedic” has really cool podcast that I listen to every week. He covers EMS news, tips and does some cool commentary as well. He recently added video to his weekly show, which I think is awesome. Jamie also has a podcast for nurses and provides “MedicCast Extra”, an affordable study aid for EMS students at all levels. The man must have found a way to invent a 30 hour day, because I have no idea how he finds time to do all the cool stuff that he does.

FEMA Independent Study

FEMA’s independent study program is an on-line training program aimed at emergency responders like EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement. They offer on-line ICS (Incident Command) training that I highly recommend taking. The best part is that it’s free. These classes are full of great information when it comes to MCI’s. They are also redeemable for CEU’s, which is a plus.

EMS 1

EMS1 is a great source of EMS news and information. They feature tons of great columnists and have daily information that I find to be extremely useful. Be sure to add them to your bookmarks.They also have a monthly newsletter that I would recommend subscribing to.

JEMS

JEMS.com is the leading on-line EMS resource for news, case reviews and discussion. Not a day goes by where I don’t check in to keep up on information related to EMS. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, their monthly publication is worth a subscription. Tons of great information. Also be sure to check out connect.jems.com an on-line social network for EMS professionals.

EMS Garage

The EMS Garage is another great podcast that I listen to weekly. I also occasionally find myself on the show discussing and debating topics in the industry. Chris Montera has put out over 80 episodes of really cool material. My favorite feature on his page is the mobile version of the site. I listen to his podcast from my phone all the time while I’m on the road. You are missing out if you haven’t been listening to the garage.

Chronicles of EMS

I saved the best for last. The Chronicles of EMS is a up and coming TV show that features EMS systems from around the world. The creators of this show are traveling around the world filming paramedics in their unique systems and showing the rest of the world how EMS is different and the same in many aspects in all the different areas. This is a must-see for all EMS professionals.


HIPAA vs EMS Bloggers

Yes I’m bringing up the much feared “H” word…..but for a good reason!

I read various EMS-related blogs and Twitter posts every day. Most come with some pretty interesting stories about calls ran. Unfortunately, some are a little too detailed and have the potential to get some people in trouble. I know this because I speak from first hand experience.

Being guilty of sharing my calls for the day with the world, I have been known to give out a little too much information. On one occasion, my boss actually called me into his office because he received a complaint about a story I posted on my blog. Luckily it just amounted to me pulling the post off my blog and no real damage was done. However, had it have been pushed any further, I could have easily been fined thousands of dollars. My employer would have also been fined, which would have probably translated into me being unemployed.

Many EMS bloggers violate HIPAA and don’t even know it. There is a huge misconception that leaving out patient names protects us from privacy laws. The truth is, you have to pretty much leave out any details that could even remotely link the story to a patient. For example; if the patient can read your blog and identify the story as being their incident, then HIPAA has been violated.

So how do I HIPAA-Proof my blog?

The only way to make your blog 100% compliant is to just not reference calls without a patient’s permission. If you read my blog, you obviously know this is not how I practice. I do however, take several steps to minimize my risks.

First and foremost, NEVER use patient names, addresses, pictures, etc. Anything that directly links your story to the patient is just an attorneys payday waiting to happen. Making up fake names or not using names at all is an easy way around this.

We all like to brag about who we work for right? Well don’t do it. Don’t even mention what agency or company you work for. Doing so places yourself and your employer at risk. This goes for the entire blog, not just the story.

Don’t talk about where you work, or even where you live.  Be vague when discussing your location. Use terms like “Southern California” rather than “Los Angeles California”. This also applies to the entire blog.

Don’t get detailed when discussing call locations. Describing your scene as “Chili’s Restaurant on 4th street”, is a bad idea. Instead either make up a fake establishment or just don’t even mention any business names.

Blogging is like journalism, so aren’t I covered under the “freedom of the press?”

No, no and hell no.

Sure Geraldo Rivera can pretty much say anything he wants on TV and be covered under the constitution, but Geraldo isn’t a paramedic (thank god). We are healthcare providers and we sign HIPAA agreements when we go through school and start employment. As a matter of fact, posting protected information on the internet is about the worst way you can violate privacy laws.

Don’t get me wrong people, I love reading about how you intubated 2 people at the same time or successfully stuck an IV in someones earlobe. Just please be careful and protect yourself!

If anyone is interested, more HIPAA information can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy.