The extent of our nation’s opioid epidemic is reaching crisis levels. The United States Health and Human Services reports a rise in the rate of overdose deaths to four times the number reported in 1999, with an average of 78 Americans dying every day from an opioid-related overdose.

As opioid dispatches rise in occurrence in EMS systems across the nation, many agency practices respond with airway management and Naloxone administration in response to the crisis. Naloxone (also referred to by a trademark name NARCAN), stops or reverses the respiratory depressing effects of an opioid overdose. The FDA approved it for expanded use. Many regions have leveraged “user-friendly” routes of Naloxone, placing doses in the hands of more responders, including law enforcement, fire department personnel and, in some areas, even bystanders.

As firefighters, police officers, and bystanders become Naloxone-equipped, this introduces additional tiers to the traditional “transfer of care”. The actions and accounts of these individuals are pertinent to the care provided by EMS and healthcare providers down the road. Consequently, EMS providers must uncover these actions and document them in the EMS PCR.

Proper documentation is an effective way to minimize the risk associated with transfer of care, even if “care” is being transferred from a non-EMS responder or bystander.

Documentation should detail the entirety of the patient care timeline, ensuring the times of interventions, assessments, and transfers, be documented precisely.

From a risk control and patient safety standpoint, an emphasis was placed on a combination of verbal and written communication in the transfer of care process, citing both methods independently have their fallacies.

Systems can facilitate verbal communication through the adoption of a standard “hand off” report such as I-PASS. Integrating a transfer of care report form can serve as a facilitator for verbal communication and contribute to written documentation, including a signature by the receiving provider. VFIS provides the Advanced Airway Verification Form for completion by the receiving provider not only supports the transfer of care, but also verifies the advanced airway placement was viable. This verification should be obtained before transferring the patient from the EMS stretcher to the hospital bed.