Content provided by ZOLL
By Christa Lassen-Vogel
When you’ve worked in EMS long enough, you know the pressure of a 911 call isn’t just on scene – it starts the moment the phone rings. Dispatchers juggle caller coaching, crew availability and resource locations, all while trying to capture the information that downstream teams rely on. And when that early data is incomplete or inaccurate, the ripple effects hit everyone, especially the billing team.
What is often overlooked is just how much revenue integrity depends on the very first moments of the call. The data dispatchers collect doesn’t just guide the clinical response; it establishes the foundation for compliant documentation and successful reimbursement.
Brad Marzolf, implementation consultant at ZOLL, puts it plainly: If documentation isn’t solid from the start, the agency pays for it later. And he’s right. When dispatch data is thin or inconsistent, the consequences stack up fast:
- Billers end up chasing missing details. Without clear reasons for service or accurate trip information, billing teams waste time trying to reconstruct what happened.
- Reimbursement takes a hit. Sending a higher level of care than necessary – simply because the initial data didn’t support the right decision – can reduce what payers are willing to cover.
- Claims are rejected. Especially for nonemergency transports, missing or weak documentation around medical necessity is a fast track to lost revenue.
The truth is that dispatch and billing aren’t separate worlds – they’re two halves of the same revenue cycle. When dispatch consistently captures the right data, crews arrive better prepared, documentation quality improves, and billing teams submit cleaner, more defensible claims on the first pass. The result is faster reimbursement, fewer denials and stronger agency finances.
Four dispatch data fields that drive reimbursement
Dispatchers don’t need more work. They need clarity about which fields matter most for revenue integrity. When they know exactly what to ask and which fields must be completed, the entire agency benefits. Focus on these four must-haves to dramatically improve billing outcomes:
- Patient pickup and drop‑off locations – Use precise, geocoded physical addresses and include the facility name when applicable. These two data points help determine loaded mileage – an input that directly affects billing and reimbursement rates.
- Crew member information – Document who was dispatched and at what level of care (EMT, AEMT, paramedic, etc.). This provides clear evidence that the dispatched level matched the patient’s acuity and supports the appropriate level of billing.
- Nature of the call – Record the patient’s problem using Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) codes rather than generic categories like “Other.” While the clinical picture can evolve by the time crews arrive, documenting the presenting complaint (e.g., chest pain, fall) with an EMD code helps billing determine whether the encounter should be billed as emergency or nonemergency and, in some cases, supports an ALS level of service.
- Incident date and response/call time – Accurately note when the incident occurred and when the loaded ambulance departed. Reimbursement is calculated based on when the loaded transport begins – so a call that starts at 11:30 p.m. but transports after midnight must reflect the next day’s date of service.
Getting these data fields correct up front pays off immediately:
- Cleaner ePCRs, cleaner claims – Precise pickup/drop‑off data and clear call nature reduce ambiguity and back‑and‑forth between crews and billing.
- Faster reimbursement – Proper levels of care and accurate time stamps align documentation to payer expectations, lowering denial rates.
- Lower administrative burden – Billers spend less time reconstructing basics and more time resolving true exceptions or optimizing collections.
- Better operational insight – Consistent facility naming and EMD coding improve reporting, QA/QI and resource planning.
Practical tips for making it stick
Turning best practices into muscle memory requires process design and smart integrations. For example, if your team exports from computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to an ePCR, be sure the pickup/drop-off location, crew and call nature fields are correctly mapped to prevent manual data entry errors that trip up billing. Also strive to use known locations for facilities: Standardize hospitals, nursing homes and frequent origins and destinations in your system. Measures like these can be part of a prebuilt QA/QI workflow that takes place before ePCRs go to the billing department.
Better documentation leads to cleaner claims, fewer delays and stronger financial performance. If you want a deeper dive into the essential data fields that make the biggest impact on billing success, ZOLL has put together a helpful tip sheet: “4 data fields dispatch must get right for billing success.”
For more information, visit ZOLL.
About the author
Christa Lassen-Vogel is the senior manager, communications and brand strategy for ZOLL software and data solutions. She is a veteran health care and technology marketer specializing in branding, innovation and customer-centric content. Motivated by a strong desire to connect customer needs with meaningful solutions, she takes pride in immersing herself in her audience’s experience in order to provide authentic, valuable information and insight. Prior to joining ZOLL, Christa developed marketing and brand strategies to power the growth of companies ranging from early-stage B2B enterprises to Fortune 100 consumer brands. She has named products from surgical devices to oatmeal and was the award-winning creative force behind numerous digital, print and television campaigns.
