MIEMSS continues to closely monitor times on the transfer of care from EMS to hospital staff, and sends weekly reports to 34 Maryland hospitals and freestanding emergency departments. All of the Region III hospitals and many in Region IV and V receive these reports. Several hospitals have used these data to re-evaluate triage processes and focus their attention on improving transfer of care times.
We encourage leaders to continue collaborative discussions with hospitals on strategies to transfer care from EMS to hospital staff in an efficient fashion. In addition, the Direct to Triage Protocol enables delivery of stable patients to the ED triage waiting area. Of note, it is important that the patient report be conveyed to nursing staff when using this protocol.