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Does anybody have any info on the Medcomm channels?
Medcomm 1-10. and a list or an idea of who uses them around the Sound? I have heard a few things here and there today. I heard Airlift NW at on point. I would imagine they are used in more rural areas for Amb-to- Hosp. chatter. So who has an idea or a list. Thank you.

use 155.34 it's amb to hospital

I work on a Medic Unit in the Puget Sound area and I can tell you most BLS Aid Cars and ALS Medic Units call the Hospitals BLS phone line or ALS Medic phone line via onboard cell phone.

:D :D --- One of the so called problems of the day is -- personal medical information privacy. The new FEDERAL law -- "HIPAA" -- will still allow EMS providers to use ALL forms of radio communications. However -- many lawyers have jumped on a band wagon -- ahead of the crowd -- that may not form -- warning every client (Ambulance company, hospital and government agency) NOT to use any two-way radio channel or system that the general public could hear. --- So the HEARS radio -- Hospital Emergency Aid/Admin Radio System -- 155.34 as well as cellphones are the norm. However -- the State of Washington does have a plan and license for statewide operations -- on all UHF Med-Com channels. If you are a Fire Buff or into EMS -- Keep them all in your scanner. It all depends on what area you are in.

Seattle fire dept paramedic units will still use the medcom channel frequently to speak with the trauma doc at Harborview.

I have heard them page the doc to the phone just as often, so I'm not sure what criteria they use to determine whether they use the phone or radio.

Most Valleycom and Eastside medic units use the phone -- at least from the instances that I've heard.

SFD Paramedics still need to ask permission to do what other agencies have standing orders to do.

I work the in the field as a CCT (Critical Care Transport) RN. The rules on using the HEAR system got modified a bit with the privacy laws. We can still use the radio but we do not give patient initials, social security numbers, or anything else that connect the report to a person.

On the cell phone we do give personal info.

I prefer to use the radio, it saves time. If I use the cell phone it takes time to autodial, ring, gt picked up, get put on hold, get picked up again, etc. With the radio the right person picks it up and is ready for my report. I give all my info almost in one breath and then we are done. I save at least 2-4 minutes by using the radio.

To clarify my earlier reply...

SFD medics will almost always use the radio for weapons-related calls or multiple-patient traumas (car crashes, etc.).

A typical report from Medic 44 on the radio to the trauma doc will be something like this:

"Patient 1 is a 44-year-old unrestrained male who was the passenger in a single car rollover with prolonged extrication. Patient is unconcious and unresponsive with a GCS of 9. Patient has been intubated. Request two large-bore IVs with lactated ringers. Blood run number is XXXXXX."

The trauma doc will then repeat back the info and approve whatever drug or IV requests were made and confirm the blood run number, if applicable.

--

As a side note, I've heard a few Valleycom fire departments taking digital pictures of serious vehicle crashes to provide to the Harborview ER docs so they can see what type of impact the patients were subjected to.

Does anyone know of any other departments doing this?

The photos are a great tool. When I was a Fire Dept Lieutenant in Clallam County we had a polaroid camera on each rescue rig. Someone was assigned at each accident to take a few photos that were sent to the ER with the patient.

Now I use the camera on my phone to snap a shot or two to show the doc. The kinematics of the accident can lead us to injuries we might not have found otherwise.