National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Last week, the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO) announced that it is soliciting feedback on revised portions contained in the 2007 National EMS Scope of Practice Model that is now available on the project website.
An area of discussion contained in the draft references “comments received for exclusion from the Practice Model” resulting in a robust conversation via various social media venues including Facebook and a surge in comments to our mailbox about endotracheal intubation.
To clarify, the expert panel reviewed several suggestions that were submitted by the EMS community via an online comment portal that launched in April 2017. NASEMSO reported aggregate data including all suggestions received from the public to the expert panel and also made them available to the broader EMS community in the draft in the spirit of total transparency.
Content regarding EMS levels and skill sets is still under discussion and will be addressed in future versions. No recommendations have yet been adopted by the expert panel about any skill mentioned in this first draft with the exception of an endorsement to support the administration of opioid antagonists at the BLS level.
The Expert Panel continues to seek the best possible scientific evidence to support future changes to the Practice Model.
NASEMSO is extremely grateful to individuals that have taken the time to comment to date and continues to welcome links and/or scientific papers that support EMS practice. National engagement provides interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the draft to ensure that the document reflects the collective expertise and experience of the whole community.
Individuals or organizations that wish to provide input should visit here to enter comments. This National Engagement Period will conclude Oct. 7, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.