2023 ANNUAL REPORT-FINAL

46

EMERGENCY SERVICES

Emergency Medical Services Office (continued)

Quality Assurance Office

The Quality Assurance Office plays a crucial role in upholding the quality of emergency medical services provided to the residents and visitors of Frederick County, ensuring alignment with best practices and evidence based medicine. To ensure we maintain our high standard of care, two full-time Quality Assurance Officers at the rank of Lieutenant staff the office. These Quality Assurance Officers collaborate closely with the Medical Review Committee (MRC), a mandatory component of EMS operational programs under COMAR Title 30 and organized through MIEMSS. The MRC serves the purpose of independently reviewing EMS incidents that may necessitate corrective action or input from the Medical Director. Additionally, the MRC is obligated to maintain a continuous quality improvement program, a vital element of all EMS programs. Incidents involving patients with immediate life-threatening illnesses or traumas undergo a thorough review to ensure compliance with medical protocols and established standards of care. In 2023, the Quality Assurance Office conducted reviews on 170 complex and simple cases, in addition to 141 educational cases based on referrals, complaints, and processes designed to evaluate 100% of priority 1 incidents, along with a random selection of approximately 60% of all other less serious patient contacts. Overall, the Quality Assurance Office assessed 1,910 priority 1 incidents; 398 priority 2 incidents; 3,100 priority 3 incidents; and 13 priority 4 incidents, resulting in a total of 5,421 reviewed incidents out of a total of 53,935 ePCR reports created. The office is presently revising the Quality Assurance policy to outline its mission and procedures. Additionally, a statewide update of the ImageTrend Elite reporting system has resulted in several changes in how the quality assurance team collects data, validates reports, and in the ePCR field requirements for clinicians. As part of the ongoing quality improvement process, the office has enhanced its utilization of data analytics to furnish management with metrics on both departmental and individual provider performance. Through collaboration with MIEMSS and local hospitals, the Quality Improvement program effectively monitors the Division's performance and ensures compliance with state and national standards of performance.