Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a) Medical and trauma Department approved
triage, transport, and transfer protocols or destination protocols shall adhere
to the principle of delivering time sensitive medical and trauma patients to
appropriate facilities as outlined by the regional advisory boards and
Department approved protocols.
(b)
Specific triage, transport, and transfer protocols or destination protocols
shall be developed by medicalcontrol for the region, area, or local service and
submitted to the Department for approval.
(c) Each patient or legal guardian of a
patient has the right to refuse treatment or transportation from an air
ambulance agency.
(d) Each air
ambulance agency shall ensure that the care of each patient is transferred
appropriately to the receiving facility's licensed staff. The transfer of care
will include verbal and written reports summarizing the assessment and
treatment of the patient by the ambulance service.
(e) All air ambulance agencies are required
to participate in the regional and statewide systems, established through
statute and administered by the Department, to ensure the patients are
transported to the appropriate facility in a timely manner to receive
appropriate care.
(f) Each agency
shall designate the receiving facilities that are within their reasonable
service range.
(1) An air agency may still
transport to facilities outside of the reasonable service range on a case by
case basis.
(2) Repeated transports
to facilities that are outside of the agency's reasonable range will require
modifications to the designated receiving facility list maintained at the
Department with the agency's approved protocols.
(g) Triage, transport and transfer protocols
approved by the Department shall include the following requirements:
(1) medical and traumatic non-emergency
transports shall be transported to the facility of the patient's choice if
within reasonable service range;
(2) emergency, non-injury related, non-life
threatening transports shall be transported to the facility of the patient's
choice if within reasonable service range;
(3) emergency, injury-related transports
shall adhere to the Oklahoma Triage, Transport, and Transfer Guidelines
approved by the Oklahoma Trauma and Emergency Response Advisory Council and
shall ensure that patients are delivered to the most appropriate classified
hospital either within their region or contiguous regions;
(4) severely injured patients as described in
the Oklahoma Triage, Transport, and Transfer Guidelines shall be transported to
a hospital classified at Level I or II for trauma and emergency operative
services unless time and distance factors are detrimental to patient care.
These patients shall be transported to the next highest level trauma and
emergency operative service classified hospital, unless a Department approved
regional plan has been developed; in which case the regional plan shall be
followed;
(5) stable patients at
risk for severe injury or with minor-to-moderate injury as described in the
Oklahoma Triage, Transport, and Transfer Guidelines shall be transported to the
closest appropriate facility. These patients may be transported to the hospital
of the patient's or patients legal representative's choice consistent with
regional guidelines;
(6) emergency,
life threatening, non-injury transports shall be to the nearest facility that
can provide evaluation and stabilization appropriate to the patient's
condition;
(7) transports or
transfers from a pre-hospital setting that occur as a result of a physician
order shall be transported to the facility ordered by the physician except
when:
(A) the patient or the patient's
guardian chooses a different facility,
(B) the patient condition changes, and going
to a different facility is in the best interest of the patient,
(C) the receiving facility's ability to
receive that patient has changed,
(D) the facility is not within a reasonable
range of the agency,
(E) the Trauma
Referral Center requests a change in destination or presents reasonable options
for a destination.
(h) In counties with populations of 300,000
or more and their contiguous communities, injury related transports shall be
directed and coordinated by the trauma transfer and referral center for the
region.
(1) All air ambulance services
providing pre-hospital emergency services in these regions shall contact the
trauma transfer and referral center at intervals determined by the Department
to register the transport of an injured patient to a hospital.
(2) All air ambulance services transporting
injured patients on a pre-hospital basis from areas outside these regions to
hospitals inside these regions shall contact the trauma transfer and referral
center in a timely manner to advise the center of the patient transfer. The
center shall maintain a record of the transfer for regional continuous quality
improvement activities.
(3) All air
ambulance services transferring injured patients from hospitals outside these
regions to hospitals inside these regions shall contact the trauma transfer and
referral center in a timely manner to advise the center of the patient
transfer. The center shall maintain a record of the transfer for regional
continuous quality improvement activities.
(i) Each air ambulance service shall ensure
that the care of each patient is transferred appropriately to the receiving
facility's licensed staff. The transfer of care will include verbal and written
reports summarizing the assessment and treatment of the patient by the
ambulance service.
(j) All air
ambulance services are required to participate in the regional and statewide
systems, established through statute administered by the Department, to ensure
patients are transported to the appropriate facility in a timely manner to
receive appropriate care.
