A question posted recently on Quora asked “When handing a patient over, should EMTs help ER staff?” EMT Anderson Moorer gave his opinion on the topic. Read his response, and add your own to the comments.
In general no, because doing so can cause issues with documentation, chain of command, confusion as to who should do what, and the clear establishment of the exact point in which responsibilities transfer. Also, the faster the EMS unit gets back in service and is available, the better.
However, in some cases the paramedic is affiliated with the hospital in question, and the system may be set up such that they can mesh with the ER teams without issue.
And of course the critical needs of the patient ethically come first wherever possible: no medical professional worth their weight is going to refuse help when it’s needed.
Both EMS services and ERs have ample precedent and experience in cases where multiple agencies may be all cooperating on patient care ... What needs to be done will be, and then each party will document in great detail the events, including who did what; if there are questions later all the facts are known.
So it’s desirable to have a clear point at which all aspects of patient care are transferred, and medics should disengage care as soon as it is safe to do so. But cooperative assistance should not be denied when doing so will do real harm to the patient’s circumstances.
