Mission
The mission of the Office of the Medical Director is to provide leadership and coordination for State EMS medical programs, protocols, and quality assurance, to liaison with the regional programs and clinical facilities, and to promote creative, responsive, and scientifically sound programs for the delivery of emergency medical care to all citizens.
Below is a brief, detailed summary of some of the ongoing activities of the Office of the Medical Director:
Ensuring Quality EMS Jurisdictional EMS Programs
The cornerstone of quality assurance is managed at the EMS operational program level through the individual program's medical review committee headed by the EMS Operational Program's (jurisdictional) medical directors. Each of the EMS operational programs has had an opportunity to review its existing quality assurance and quality improvement plans and continue to improve upon them to meet the current Title 30 standards. The Office of the Medical Director and the Regional Quality Improvement Committees continue to work diligently with each of the EMS operational programs to improve the infrastructure, the quality assurance process, and the quality improvement objectives of each of the EMS operational programs. Each EMS operational program in the State of Maryland has submitted its written quality assurance and quality improvement plan to the Office of the Medical Director, which has reviewed and provided improvement feedback on each plan. Several EMS operational programs have superb quality improvement projects with local bench-marking that is clearly having positive impact not only on local EMS programs but also on the statewide EMS system.
Monitoring of Base Station Hospitals
The Office of the Medical Director, in cooperation with the Director of Hospital Programs, provides quality monitoring of the Base Station hospitals to ensure quality on-line medical direction and a quality review process for Base Station hospitals giving real-time medical consultations with EMS providers.
Working with EMS & Base Station Medical Directors
Quality EMS and Base Station Medical Direction oversight is an essential part of a comprehensive prehospital system of care. The State EMS Medical Director has a committee of Regional Medical Directors who support the EMS Operational Program Medical Directors. This provides continuity for medical oversight to address local and state issues, as well as managing provider quality assurance cases in a confidential and professional manner. The Regional Medical Directors are appointed by the MIEMSS Regional EMS Advisory Councils and approved by the State EMS Medical Director.
The current Regional Medical Directors are as follows:
- Region I ................... Janelle Martin, MD
- Region II ................... Jeffrey Fillmore, MD
- Region III .................. Matthew Levy, DO, MSc, FACEP, FAEMS
- Region IV ................... Thomas Chiccone, MD, FACEP
- Region V ................... Roger Stone, MD
Facilitating SWOT Process Regarding EMS Issues at County Level
The Office of the Medical Director and the MIEMSS Regional Offices, upon request from the leading County Official(s), will facilitate a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) process though a broad constituency County task force to address selective EMS issues to improve the delivery of prehospital medical care. The SWOT process has been instrumental in addressing individual EMS Operational Program issues such as rising ambulance scratch rates, financial solvency, timely delivery of quality BLS/ALS services, establishing countywide standards for the County's EMS service, and developing sustainable and adaptive strategies to maintain a robust EMS system and an accountable EMS service.
Maintaining the "Maryland Medical Protocols for EMS Providers"
The Office of the Medical Director works with the Protocol Review Committee to develop and approve changes to the protocols. The Office then follows approved protocols through the rest of the protocol development process until implementation. The Office also participates in the development of educational materials and answers protocol-related questions for clinicians.
Click this link for the Maryland Medical Protocols
For further assistance please contact Timothy Chizmar, MD, FACEP, State EMS Medical Director, or Chris Hyzer, Administrator, Office of the Medical Director, at 410-706-0880 (phone) or 410-706-0853 (fax).