A question...

[Aussieaid]

So I have a question and hope someone has some ideas for me.

What would be the legalities of using a piece of equipment that you supply yourself which is not supplied by your employer? Non-invasive equipment...monitoring equipment that you have training and education on.

The reason I have the equipment is because it is not supplied by my employer and I am professionally uncomfortable doing certain transports without it as I feel it is lowering the level of care to not have it. I feel like my licence is at risk even though my employer doesn't supply the equipment when I know better and have it myself.

And, yes I will be raising the issue with my employers and am actually considering turning down certain transports because I don't have the equipment (supplied by my employer).

Any and all thoughts will be appreciated....

Edited November 25, 2010 by Aussieaid

[HellsBells]

It would be helpful if you mentioned what type of equipment you're talking about. However, if you feel your putting yourself at risk by working for this company, why continue to work there?

[island emt]

While I realize you are being intentionally vague about the lack of something you perceive to be needed on the ambulance, Did you check to see if it's mandated by your state or provincial licensing authority?

If you are talking about a piece of electronic equipment such as a vent or similar then you would be assuming responsibility & liability if a malfunction occurred.

[mobey]

If your system is similar to ours, the equipment has to be approved by a medical director.

Now if you are just using a doppler to count fetal HR, that is one thing.... But something that is actually going to change your treatments, I could see being a legal issue if anything ever went bad.

[Chief1C]

If I feel we need something that we don't have, I buy it, I'm the supply officer. If it's something we can't afford, I apply for a grant. If it's a luxury item, I go to liquidation sales at clinics, storage facilities, etc; and see if I can personally buy it, and donate it. For instance. NIBP was approved for BLS units. I thought it would be the cats ass, since we have hella long transport times. Instituted a policy on how to use it, first BP is manual, last BP is manual. Road conditions, they suck, don't allow for auscultation all the time. I wanted an electronic stethoscope, but I could see that walking away. Our pulse ox was getting on to about ten years old, so I recommended for purchase a multiple function device. It's not something we needed necessarily, but it has the potential to make our job easier b/c it prints. Well, it's supposed to, the printer has been on back order.

[Linuss]

I bought my own personal PulseOx for about $30 off Amazon, as while my company had a couple, I somehow always got screwed out of them because a BLS truck would grab it before me.

As a Paramedic, I didn't feel comfortable running the respiratory calls I did without a pulse ox to augment it, and felt like an idiot walking in to the ER, being asked what my SOBs sats were, and me going "No clue"

[DwayneEMTP]

If your system is similar to ours, the equipment has to be approved by a medical director.

Now if you are just using a doppler to count fetal HR, that is one thing.... But something that is actually going to change your treatments, I could see being a legal issue if anything ever went bad.

(I was so excited to jump on "equipment has to be approved by a medical director." as most of us own our own stethoscopes, but of course you had to go an screw that up by quantifying it. Thanks for hosing my chance at a cheap superiority thrill! I'd think you'd be more considerate during the Christmas season.)

And I'm curious, what equipmant is one going to be willing to buy to improve level of care? I'll bet you dollars to donughts that we're talking about a pulse ox in this situation, and though I'd love to say, "What the hell does a medic need with a pulse ox in 99% of situations!?" I've become aware that even if you're capable of doing your job without it, that during transfer of care there are many that will feel that you haven't, if you haven't used it.

I love my patients, but I'm not buying a monitor to improve their care, not am I going to trust a $30 SPO2 to back up my diagnosis. So I too am curious of what we're talking about here...But alas, as often happens, we may never know.

Dwayne

[brentoli]

This mysterious piece of equipment...

Does it offer you a dataset that will change the course of treatment?

If the answer is yes:

Can the dataset change the course of treatment in a way that if the data is wrong, by machine error or human error, has any possibility of doing harm to your patient?

If the answer is yes:

Don't use your own equipment.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[Aussieaid]

Thank you for your replies. They were helpful and along with advice from other colleagues I have resolved on a plan of action: Talking to my Supervisor and Medical Director.

The equipment I am talking about is a fetal doppler for high risk OB transports. I think it may have been an oversight that we don't have one as it is even mentioned in our protocols to monitor the FHR. They just haven't supplied us with the equipment. I will be happy to donate mine (well, maybe donate with reimbursement!!). I do know that I will not be doing any OB transports without at least a fetal doppler.

To not have any means of monitoring fetal well being in transport is a lawsuit waiting to happen. OB has the highest rate of litigation of any medical field. I am not going to put my licence at risk for an oversight (hopefully).

I was advised that since my doppler is not being covered by biomed with the company I could be liable so will take the safe option and get them to get me one!

Thanks again for your opinions!

[crotchitymedic1986]

Ok, let me ask the obvious question. What would you do if you found FHTs to be too low or too high ? Emergency C-section ? Drive at 72mph instead of 70 ?