"Medical Miranda"--improved emergency medical dispatch information from police officers.
BACKGROUND
Medical Miranda, also called Secondary Emergency Notification of Dispatch (SEND), is a low cost, effective, and welcome addition to emergency medical dispatching systems. The benefits are recognized by emergency medical dispatchers who receive feeder calls from associated public safety agencies that have trained both their field staff and call-takers in the Medical Miranda protocol.


OBJECTIVE
The dispatchers would be more satisfied with feeder agencies that used the SEND protocol.


METHODS
A survey was conducted and analyzed, taking advantage of a situation in which two agencies (one used SEND) fed calls to the same communication center.


RESULTS
Dispatchers were more satisfied with the information gained from the feeder agency that used the SEND protocol and believed that the officers and dispatchers of that agency had a far better understanding of the emergency medical dispatcher's needs.


CONCLUSIONS
When the emergency medical dispatcher does not talk directly with the reporting scene personnel or caller, Medical Miranda increases the usefulness of the information the dispatcher receives, helps the dispatcher better understand the reported medical emergency, and improves response appropriateness in emergency medical service (EMS) systems where responses routinely are prioritized.
Clawson
J J
JJ
Medical Priority Consultants, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT 84111, USA. jeff@medicalpriority.com
Sinclair
B
B
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D016495:Police / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services; D014589:Utah