Check this out

[Guest guest]

For everyone's enjoyment. From San

www.ksat.com/video/10260424

[Guest guest]

That was appalling. I've seen dirty (read no blood) gloves dumped-out with

the soda/coffee cups and snack sacks of the shift, even done it myself a few

times, but I have NEVER seen blood-soaked materials and IV supplies dumped

into a public trash receptacle. I've certainly NEVER done it myself.

Hospital or nursing home demographics sheets, transfer forms, etc, either

stay with the patient care record, get handed-off to the receiving staff, or

get SHREDDED, period.

This could be a black eye for not only private sector, but for any and all

agencies. I'll bet compliance officers and supervisors will be breathing

down EVERYBODY'S neck for a long time to come.

Barry Everett McClung, FF/EMT-P

[Guest guest]

Barry,

Don't hold your breath about changes being made. The services involved

appear to have adopted the " Deny, deny, deny " strategy, even in the face of

incontrovertible evidence against them. From the video presentation, it appears

that these services may not have responded responsibly to the situation.

However, I also know that the media can completely distort a situation, so one

must

withhold judgment until all the facts are in. The question is: What agency

is investigating this? DSHS? CMS? The Texas AG? Anyone? If not, why

not?

The part involving the discarding of patient information may be a HIPAA

violation, and a possible violation of Chapter 181, Texas Health and Safety Code

and Chapter 773, Texas Health and Safety Code.

DSHS has jurisdiction to investigate violations of Chapter 181, and, of

course it has the power to investigation of violations of the patient

confidentiality provisions of Chapter 773, Texas Health and Safety Code. There

should be

an investigation to determine if those provisions have been violated.

I hope that DSHS will start an ad hoc investigation and follow it to

conclusion. I implore DSHS to do this for the good of EMS and to let the

public know

that violations like this will not be allowed.

These violations should be investigated and appropriate sanctions taken

against the services involved if they are found to be in violation of the

statutes.

Or they should be exonerated. The facts should be published in either event

after a thorough investigation is completed.

CMS should also be investigating. However, for that to happen, a complaint

must be made. I am not aware of such a complaint having been filed. Anyone

aggrieved has 180 days to file.

It is disturbing that these incidents have occurred. Nothing good for EMS

can flow from these transgressions.

Texas needs to do something to stop the proliferation of private services and

to increase the regulation of them. There are over 200 such services in

County only, and more than 100 in Dallas County. Something is wrong

here.

There is absolutely no need nor any justification for that number of services

to exist. While I am normally against excessive regulation, this is a case

where Texas needs to develop a Certificate of Need requirement such as many

other states have.

When stories like this surface, the public has no reference point from which

to evaluate the facts, so they tend to ascribe the bad conduct to all EMS

services, a completely unwarranted leap.

One wonders what the Texas Ambulance Association's reaction to this news is

or will be. It would seem that TAA and the AAA would jump on this to preserve

the integrity of private services, which they largely represent. Again, do

not hold your breath.

Gene G.

>

> That was appalling. I've seen dirty (read no blood) gloves dumped-out with

> the soda/coffee cups and snack sacks of the shift, even done it myself a few

> times, but I have NEVER seen blood-soaked materials and IV supplies dumped

> into a public trash receptacle. I've certainly NEVER done it myself.

>

> Hospital or nursing home demographics sheets, transfer forms, etc, either

> stay with the patient care record, get handed-off to the receiving staff, or

> get SHREDDED, period.

>

> This could be a black eye for not only private sector, but for any and all

> agencies. I'll bet compliance officers and supervisors will be breathing

> down EVERYBODY'S neck for a long time to come.

>

> Barry Everett McClung, FF/EMT-P

>

>