Pennsylvania Code › Title 28 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Part VII - Emergency Medical Services › Subpart A - EMS System › Chapter 1027 - EMS AGENCIES › Subchapter A - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 1027.4 - EMS agency dispatch centers

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Certification required.
Effective October 13, 2015, an EMS
					 agency that operates an EMS agency dispatch center shall use call-takers and
					 dispatchers who are certified and maintain certification as call-takers and
					 dispatchers by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency under
					 35 Pa.C.S. §
												5303(a)(6) (relating to
					 telecommunications management).
(b)
Costs.
The costs associated with the education, certification
					 and recertification of an EMS agency dispatch center's call-takers and
					 dispatchers are the responsibility of the EMS agency.
(c)
Requirements.
An EMS
					 agency that operates an EMS agency dispatch center shall:
(1) Establish and maintain policies and
					 procedures approved by the Department to aid in directing the daily operation
					 of the EMS agency dispatch center.
(2) Utilize emergency medical dispatch
					 protocols approved by the Department. Effective July 9, 2014, an EMS agency
					 dispatch center shall use the emergency medical dispatch program used by the
					 emergency communications center of the county in which the EMS agency dispatch
					 center is located.
(3) Require its
					 call-takers to satisfy performance standards that are based on
					 Nationally-accepted emergency medical dispatch standards. An EMS agency
					 dispatch center shall submit these performance standards, and changes, to the
					 Department for approval. At a minimum, an EMS agency dispatch center's
					 performance standards shall measure a call-taker's ability to:
(i) Answer the telephone quickly and
					 correctly and verify the location of the incident.
(ii) Obtain a callback telephone number from
					 the person making the call.
(iii)
					 Determine the nature of the incident and select and assign the appropriate EMS
					 response to the incident.
(iv)
					 Obtain all pertinent information quickly and effectively, make updates
					 accordingly and keep the caller on the line until the required information is
					 obtained.
(v) Control the
					 conversation with the caller and exhibit a calm and professional
					 demeanor.
(vi) Demonstrate proper
					 documentation of the information received on call-taker screens or
					 cards.
(4) Require its
					 dispatchers to satisfy performance standards that are based on Nationally
					 accepted emergency medical dispatch standards. An EMS agency dispatch center
					 shall submit these performance standards, and changes, to the Department for
					 approval. At a minimum, an EMS agency dispatch center's performance standards
					 shall measure a dispatcher's ability to:
(i)
					 Dispatch the appropriate EMS resources within the prescribed timeframe
					 established by the EMS agency dispatch center's standard operating
					 procedures.
(ii) Provide pertinent
					 information to the responding units and relay updated information about the
					 incident to the responding units.
(iii) Answer radio transmissions promptly and
					 exhibit a timely response to requests from the responding units as established
					 by the EMS agency dispatch center's standard operating procedures.
(iv) Speak clearly and maintain a
					 professional demeanor.
(5) Establish a quality assurance review
					 process that is executed with consistency and objectivity in accordance with
					 internal standards developed by the EMS agency.
(i) The EMS agency shall use the quality
					 assurance review process to identify additional or supplemental education
					 needed to improve a call-taker's or dispatcher's job performance.
(ii) The EMS agency shall use the quality
					 assurance review process to determine whether any processes of the EMS agency
					 dispatch center require modification or change.
(6) Designate a quality assurance reviewer
					 who shall:
(i) Function at a supervisory
					 level.
(ii) Have a minimum of 3
					 years of experience in the field of emergency telecommunications.
(iii) Be a member of the EMS agency's quality
					 improvement committee under §
													1027.3(l)
					 (relating to licensure and general operating standards).
(iv) Conduct a random sampling of emergency
					 dispatch calls that will be reviewed every 2 weeks to ensure compliance with
					 the performance standards in this section as well as the standards in the
					 standard operating procedures of each EMS agency dispatch center.
(v) Conduct a monthly quality assurance
					 review of 5% of the total emergency dispatch calls the EMS agency dispatch
					 center processes per month.
(vi)
					 Conduct a quality assurance review, every 6 months, of a segment of each
					 call-taker's and dispatcher's radio activity to determine adherence to the
					 standards in this section and the EMS agency dispatch center's performance
					 standards.
(A) Call-takers and dispatchers
					 shall receive the results of their quality assurance reviews within 5 days of
					 each review.
(B) Actual transcripts
					 or recordings of phone calls made to and from an EMS agency dispatch center are
					 not public records to the extent they are protected under the Right-to-Know Law
					 (65
					 P. S. §§
															67.101-67.3104) and may
					 not be included in the text of a quality assurance review. Actual transcripts
					 or recordings of phone calls may be reviewed by the quality assurance reviewer
					 as part of the quality assurance review.
(vii) Complete a quality assurance review for
					 each segment reviewed on a form approved by the Department. Copies of each
					 quality assurance review shall be retained on file at the EMS agency dispatch
					 center for 4 years.
(7)
					 Ensure that quality assurance actions that are initiated in response to the
					 results of a quality assurance review are documented and placed in the EMS
					 agency dispatch center's records. Copies of each quality assurance action shall
					 be retained on file at the EMS agency dispatch center for 4 years.
(8) Refer to the PSAP in its area a request
					 for EMS for which it is unable to dispatch appropriate EMS resources within the
					 time prescribed by the PSAP.
(9)
					 Ensure that persons are not denied access to EMS because of the inability or
					 limited ability to communicate in the English language, including hearing
					 impaired or deaf persons.
(10)
					 Ensure that the EMS agency dispatch center's call-takers and dispatchers are
					 subject to this quality assurance review process.
(11) Ensure that quality assurance reviews
					 are used to support the development and assessment of goals and expectations on
					 each call-taker's and dispatcher's yearly performance appraisal.