Savvik | 5.11 Boots 25% off Retail
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CMS Webinar on Addressing Healthcare Inequities
GAPBAC Meeting Postponed
The first meeting (virtual) of the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee scheduled for January 17 and 18 has been postponed. According to CMS, the meeting is being postponed due to “operational impediments”. We will let you know the new dates for the meeting when announced by CMS.
Revised CY 2023 Ambulance Fee Schedule Public Use Files
This content is for AAA members only.
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Employee Retention Tax Credit Quick Take
Recently, members have asked numerous questions about the COVID-19-related Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). HR/Operations Consultant Scott Moore, Esq., addresses common areas of confusion and shares information about the ERTC program in this Quick Take.
Prehospital Emergency Care | 2022 Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Guidelines for Prehospital Care
From Prehospital Emergency Care
Introduction
Multiple national organizations and federal agencies have promoted the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) for prehospital care. Previous efforts have identified opportunities to improve the quality of prehospital guidelines and highlighted the value of high-quality EBGs to inform initial certification and continued competency activities for EMS personnel.
Objectives
We aimed to perform a systematic review of prehospital guidelines published from January 2018 to April 2021, evaluate guideline quality, and identify top-scoring guidelines to facilitate dissemination and educational activities for EMS personnel.
Methods
We searched the literature in Ovid Medline and EMBASE from January 2018 to April 2021, excluding guidelines identified in a prior systematic review. Publications were retained if they were relevant to prehospital care, based on organized reviews of the literature, and focused on providing recommendations for clinical care or operations. Included guidelines were appraised to identify if they met the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) criteria for high-quality guidelines and scored across the six domains of the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool.
Results
We identified 75 guidelines addressing a variety of clinical and operational aspects of EMS medicine. About half (n = 39, 52%) addressed time/life-critical conditions and 33 (44%) contained recommendations relevant to non-clinical/operational topics. Fewer than half (n = 35, 47%) were based on systematic reviews of the literature. Nearly one-third (n = 24, 32%) met all NAM criteria for clinical practice guidelines. Only 27 (38%) guidelines scored an average of >75% across AGREE II domains, with content relevant to guideline implementation most commonly missing.
Conclusions
This interval systematic review of prehospital EBGs identified many new guidelines relevant to prehospital care; more than all guidelines reported in a prior systematic review. Our review reveals important gaps in the quality of guideline development and the content in their publications, evidenced by the low proportion of guidelines meeting NAM criteria and the scores across AGREE II domains. Efforts to increase guideline dissemination, implementation, and related education may be best focused around the highest quality guidelines identified in this review.
Read Full Research Paper
Christian Martin-Gill, Kathleen M. Brown, Rebecca E. Cash, Rachel M. Haupt, Benjamin T. Potts, Christopher T. Richards, P. Daniel Patterson & for the Prehospital Guidelines Consortium (2022) 2022 Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Guidelines for Prehospital Care, Prehospital Emergency Care, DOI: 10.1080/10903127.2022.2143603
US Ambulances for Ukraine
As we start the new year, US Ambulances for Ukraine continues to actively seek donated used ambulances from across the United States to send to Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022, US Ambulances for Ukraine, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago has successfully delivered 18 American ambulances to Ukraine, many coming from members of the American Ambulance Association. In addition, another 10 ambulances and one fire engine are sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and will soon be delivered to Ukraine. Efforts are currently underway to make the next shipment of donated American ambulances the largest to date. The goal is to secure 22 ambulances to be shipped in late January or early February, which would bring the total number of donated ambulances from the United States to 50. If you have an ambulance that is mechanically sound that you are considering retiring or have one that isn’t needed anymore and would like to participate in this effort US Ambulances for Ukraine would love to hear from you. This group has a proven track record of successfully delivering ambulances to hospitals, military units, NGOs, fire departments and other entities operating in Ukraine. The group also continuously updates donors during the process and provides photographic updates of the ambulances once they have been delivered. Every donor knows exactly where their ambulance will be donated before it even leaves the United States.
The American Ambulance Association has followed the Twitter feed of US Ambulances for Ukraine @AmbulancesU and encourages you to do so as well. There you can see the latest updates on their efforts and several images of donated American ambulances in action. If you are interested in donating an ambulance or would like more information you can reach out to the founder of US Ambulances for Ukraine, Chris Manson, Vice President of Government Relations for OSF HealthCare at Christopher.M.Manson@osfhealthcare.org.
DOJ OJP | Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery
Every day, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers engage in exceptional acts of bravery while in the line of duty. Often, such acts place the officers involved at personal risk of injury or result in their sustaining a physical injury. To honor these acts of bravery, Congress passed the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-298), creating the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery and the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery. The act establishes an award to honor exceptional acts of bravery in the line of duty by federal, state, and local law enforcement officers. The medals are awarded annually by the U.S. Attorney General and are presented by the recipients’ Congressional representatives.
To meet the definition of an act of bravery, nominees for the Congressional Badge of Bravery must have either:
- Sustained a physical injury while engaged in the lawful duties of the individual, and performing an act characterized as bravery by the agency head who makes the nomination, and being at personal risk; or
- Although not injured, performed an act characterized as bravery by the agency head who makes the nomination that placed the individual at risk of serious physical injury or death.
Nominating a Law Enforcement Officer to Receive the Congressional Badge of Bravery
The submitting of nominations is by/at the direction of law enforcement agency heads to the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Nominations are considered by either the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board or the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board, which submit their recommendations to the U.S. Attorney General.
The opening date for nominations is on or about December 15 of each year. When the nomination period is open, all nominations must be submitted through the online Congressional Badge of Bravery Nomination System.
PLEASE NOTE: The background of Congressional Badge of Bravery nominees may be reviewed as part of the selection process. Agency heads must submit nominations through the online Congressional Badge of Bravery Nomination System.
More Information
- Congressional Badge of Bravery Frequently Asked Questions
- Template for CBOB applications
- Illustrations of the CBOB federal and state and local medals
- For more information about the Congressional Badge of Bravery, please email AskCBOB@usdoj.gov.
- Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Brochure
- To learn about other law enforcement and crime prevention initiatives, subscribe to NewsFromBJA.
- Gregory Joy, BJA Policy Advisor, and CBOB Program Administrator: Gregory.Joy@usdoj.gov