[Newbiesaukee]

Winnipiseogee has really performed a public service. The more we understand what really happens in an emergency, the better we can make informed decisions. The following was from the AMA email I get each morning. It discusses trauma care, but it is really the same issue. And that issue is that certain emergencies require care that is not always available at your "local" hospital. It even refers to the kind of transfer arrangements that Winni discusses:

Leading the News:

Report calls for integrated national trauma care system
The Wall Street Journal (6/17, Phillips, Stevens, Subscription Publication) reported that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report on Friday demonstrating that nearly a fifth of the US deaths resulting from trauma, the leading cause of death for people under the age of 45, are preventable. The authors of the report stressed that military advancements in treating battlefield trauma have not been adequately or evenly adopted by civilian hospitals.

The AP (6/17, Neergaard) reported, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has triage guidelines for EMS in deciding what type of care a patient needs, but as of 2011, the latest data, only 16 states had at least partially implemented them, the panel found.” Meanwhile, “hospitals that can’t handle severe injuries have to transfer patients, and those patients are nearly 25 percent more likely to die than those taken immediately to a trauma center, the report concluded.”

Bloomberg News (6/17, Tozzi), reported that “the report calls for a number of systematic changes, including better sharing of data and research.” Additionally, “there are some practical steps...such as using tourniquets more aggressively and strengthening the role of ‘prehospital’ care, such as emergency medical technicians.”

We may all like to believe that the closest hospital is best able to handle all emergencies. At the same time, the idea is to share information so that all ERs are able to better treat patients. Winni is just trying to point out that detailed plans are being made to get you to the best hospital. And yes, that MAY mean having someone drive you. In the best situations these plans are in effect all over so that you can be confident that the EMS people get you to the correct place without your having to make the decision.