Prehospital Report (vs Triage?)

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I agree

The most usefull thing that can be done in the field by the
intial responder (besides providing care) is to record the
intial findings and treatemt provided. Tags are usefull for
this mainly to lessen the likelhood of becoming separated
from the patient and can provide more information than a
note on the forehead

As far as triage catagories go, I always tried to have my
teams carry colored clothespins. They can be attached to
almost anything including the stretcher and can easily be
changed if the triage catagory changes. Plus they are cheap

R Wigle MD
LTC (Ret) USAMC

is--- Jason Van der Velde <rescue at doctors.org.uk> wrote:

> Ruy,
> 
> I would have to side with your commanding officer on this
> 
> one, but for a slightly different reason and it will be 
> good for your reputation to approach your next meeting 
> starting, “On reflection and consultation,  I must fully 
> agree with your decision
I wonder if we could change 
> something very slightly for the following reason..!”
> 
> There are 2 distinct parts to this argument:
> 
> 1) Day to day vs Mass Casualty
> 
> In disaster/mass casualty situations the very last thing 
> you want to do is deviate too far from the norm.
> Efficient 
> surge management is all about keeping staff in the same 
> routine that they are used to. Change forms, even 
> slightly, and you will loose efficiency. Change routine 
> for a rare event, and you will lose efficiency. 
>  Additionally audit, which you will want to achieve post 
> mass casualty, will be far more difficult. I could go on 
> and on

> 
> So your prehospital (and hospital for that matter) 
> paperwork should be very simple, ALL THE TIME! Have a 
> minimal demographics (name + age) and clinical section 
> (drawing only and space for free text) that you would 
> expect to be completed in mass casualty and obviously all
> 
> routine work. Then on the same card/paper have enough 
> information for day to day audit and legal documentation 
> purposes that you would expect to be completed in all 
> routine work.
> 
> 2) Simplicity of triage
> 
> Companies who make triage cards hate me, because I don’t 
> believe in them!!! I believe in keeping your normal day
> to 
> day prehospital paperwork as above for recording 
> information and leaving with the patients. The act of 
> triage should be conducted with nothing more expensive 
> than a big thick permanent marker pen to write on the 
> forehead or perhaps something really cheap and therefore 
> uniformly distributable amongst all your first responders
> 
> like coloured hair bands, tape etc. Think about it
 how 
> many of your frontline troops would you expect to carry 
> triage cards? Yet they are going to be the ones 1st on 
> scene!!! Just add a big thick permanent marker to their 
> kit and job is more than efficiently done

> 
> Happy to help further, just email off list

> 
> Dr. Jason van der Velde
> EMDM-A
> ATACC Disaster Response Coordinator
> Trauma Research Fellow in Anaesthesia
> 
> Just finished a loooong discussion with the director
> > of prehospital services at my institution (Mexican
> > Army), we are implementing a new prehospital report
> > but he insisted in using the triage tags (cards) but I
> > insisted on using those only for multiple victims.  Is
> > anybody on the list  aware of using just one report
> > for all patients including disasters?  My opinion on
> > the matter is that if we put a lot of information on
> > the triage tags then the purpose of rapid filling of
> > the form is lost.  Being in the army I could have
> > ended the discussion with a: look this is the way we
> > are going to do it! but I really want to have some
> > data or input from you experts on the matter, thanks a
> > lot in advance.
> > 
> > Ruy Cabello-Pasini MD, LTC
> > Trauma Surgeon
> 
> 
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