Houghtaling Bill to Improve Delivery of Emergency Medical Services Now Law

Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D., Eric Houghtaling, Annette Quijano, Thomas Giblin and Wayne DeAngelo to improve the delivery of emergency medical services (EMS) in New Jersey by establishing certain data reporting requirements for EMS providers and dispatch centers has been signed into law.

Under the law (S-5/A-4925), basic life support ambulance services, mobile intensive care units, air medical services, and volunteer and non-volunteer first aid, rescue, and ambulance squads would be required to report certain data to the state Department of Health (DOH), which will create a system to evaluate the data to help improve outcomes.

"Throughout both the nation and the health care industry, technological innovations have enhanced the ability to track and utilize patient care data to improve outcomes and efficiencies and realize cost savings," said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth). "We should be capitalizing on these innovations as much as possible."

Specifically, each EMS provider that provides pre-hospital emergency medical care to patients in New Jersey will be required to report certain information about each incident to DOH. This information is to be reported in the most current format used by the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS).

Similarly, EMS dispatch centers will be required to report certain information to DOH concerning each request for emergency medical services that is received by the dispatch center. DOH will be required to furnish to EMS providers and dispatchers, without charge, any software or programs developed by the department for accessing and using the electronic reporting system.

The electronic reporting system is to record and track data concerning the types of medical emergencies for which emergency medical services are requested, patterns in the timing and location of requests for emergency medical services, patterns in the type or nature of emergency medical services provided, and patterns in dispatch and response activity. Additionally, the commissioner will have the option to track and record response times for EMS providers.

The commissioner, in consultation with the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council, shall be required to adopt rules and regulations establishing quality performance metrics and pre-hospital protocols for emergency medical services providers, which are to be based on the data tracked and recorded under the bill.

Additionally, the law requires DOH to establish the New Jersey Emergency Medical Services Task Force to support and enhance the provision of specialized response services, utilizing personnel and equipment to respond as requested, for both pre-planned and emergency events, including natural disasters, mass casualty incidents, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive events, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality through appropriate triage, incident management, and coordinated pre-hospital care and transportation.