By Sara Johnson
SoMd News
A change in the way paramedics treat cardiac arrest patients could delay their arrival to the hospital, but also could increase their chances of survival.
New protocols released by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems create two major practice changes for EMS providers. As of July 1, providers must first treat medical cardiac arrest patients on the scene, rather than rushing them to a hospital. They also now have the authority to declare a patient dead on the scene.
“We now know that their best chance of survival comes within that 15-minute window and that it depends on effective CPR (which you cannot do when moving the patient) in combination with the advanced techniques our paramedics can do,” Alan Butsch , battalion chief for the EMS section of Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, wrote in an email.
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