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Quick Clip: Does a tiered EMS system short change patients?

Co-host Kelly Grayson and EMS1 columnist and show guest Bob Sullivan debate a BLS vs. ALS system

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In the week’s Quick Clip, co-host Kelly Grayson, and Bob Sullivan, an EMS1 columnist who has worked in a tiered EMS system, use a previous Inside EMS Podcast discussion as a jumping off point to debate BLS vs. ALS.

Co-host and Christian Hospital EMS Chief Chris Cebollero said earlier that he regrets moving to a mostly ALS system, and his five-year plan is to revert back to an all-BLS system.

“We’ve got a way of rubbing people the wrong way,” Cebollero quipped.

In a tiered system paramedics are only dispatched to calls that would require an ALS provider, and Sullivan says he believes that leaves many patients short-changed. Pain medication, for instance, is considered a BLS response but would benefit from ALS treatment.

“There are certain interventions that are frequently required,” he said.

The Inside EMS podcast is a regular expert discussion of hot topics, clinical issues, operational and leadership lessons for EMTs, paramedics and chiefs
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