Due Diligence - When reporting an incident isn't worth the keystrokes and calories burned to create it
Your patient is one of the dozens your system will encounter this week who's had an adverse reaction to an opiate ingestion. The patient is revived by law enforcement prior to your arrival with intranasal administration of Naloxone ® (Narcan) , the popular opiate antagonist cited in every news feed in the U.S. The rest of the call is a ground ball, an all too familiar, routine transfer to the local hospital where your patient is likely a frequent consumer of health services. Transferring Care When your team arrives, there are several ambulances in the ER bays dropping off, picking up, doing the business of their trade. You roll your stretcher inside with your now awake, and visibly annoyed, patient (annoyed because you ruined his high), get him registered, and attempt to give the triage nurse your patient report. A neighboring volunteer EMS agency is also giving report on their patient (completely unrelated incidents) when their "leader" happens to overhear your...