OUT-OF-COUNTY PATIENT TRANSFER POLICY

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Policy:

    Iredell County EMS will only transport out of county if on duty EMS Operations supervisor believes situation to be imminently life threatening, all other avenues of transport have been contacted, and enough units are available in county for proper coverage of all areas. 

Purpose:

    1. Provide in-county adequate coverage of all areas with ALS ambulance services at all times.

    2. Provide in-county hospitals with back-up transportation services to deliver patients to definitive care.

Procedure:

1.      Iredell County EMS will abide by the following policy when a request is received for an out-of-county patient transfer.

• Routine, non-emergency, and urgent requests for interhospital transfer shall be referred to other regional and private medical transportation services. Iredell County EMS shall attempt to provide interhospital transfers in situations determined to be imminently life threatening.
• When possible, it is preferred the attending physician contact the on-duty EMS Operations Supervisor to request an interhospital transfer. This does not preclude other authorized members of the hospital staff from initiating contact with EMS.
• The EMS Operations Supervisor will dispatch a transport unit if a minimum of four ambulances and one quick response vehicle is available to provide in-county coverage. As a general rule, no more than one unit will be allowed out of county at any given time. This does not preclude the EMS Operations Supervisor from using his/her judgment in approving two out-of-county units during non-peak hours.
• In general, Iredell County EMS will provide emergency patient transfers to appropriate receiving hospitals in Catawba, Forsyth, and Mecklenburg counties. Transfers to medical facilities in other counties will be at the discretion of the on-duty EMS Supervisor.

·         EMS personnel may request that appropriate hospital medical staff accompany the patient during transport if the patient’s condition is unstable.

*Antibiotics or Beta Blockers may be monitored and / or administered during  interfacility transports ONLY!

 Prior to leaving the transferring facility the attending EMT-P must obtain a package insert for the specific medication being used. 

 If a package insert or information for Medication Information Form is not available, then the transferring facility must    provide a Physician or RN to accompany the patient during the transport or the medication in question will be  discontinued prior to initiation of the transport.

 After reviewing medication information, all questions should be answered by the RN or Physician.

 If information can not be given to the EMT-P, the transferring facility must provide a RN or Physician to accompany the patient during the transport, or discontinue the medication.