Medical director

[Expotential]

So it occurred to me - some medical directors are very involved while others are very uninvolved the level of commitment you see with some makes me wonder if it is because they are paid well to be involved or whether they just enjoy it.

How much have you heard of medical directors getting paid - private or city, how many ambulances.

To be quite honest I dont even know the range of pay

[DwayneEMTP]

That's a good question, but based on my personal experience, which is slight, I'm going to doubt that involvement has way more to do with dedication and personal mores than pay.

Also, just a heads up, but people will likely want to know more about you before they'll be willing to give very much personal/privileged info. Maybe not, but I would...as many, many people come here for information that they want to use for a purpose other than that stated.

My current medical director is from some country where they speak a language that even when using English words I still can't understand at all, my last one from India, the one before from South Africa...so, as you can see, I can't be much help at all...(So why am I still typing? Not sure exactly....But I'm going to stop now...)

Good luck

[ERDoc]

This is a very difficult question to answer since there are so many different forms of a medical director. There are full-time positions, part-time positions, positions where it's just a doc signing off on protocols with minimal other involvement. If you want someone of quality you will need to find out what the reasonable clinical rate is in the ER in your area and come close to that.

EDIT: It might also help to know what part of the world you come from.

Edited April 24, 2012 by ERDoc

[Kiwiology]

We do not have a "Medical Director" per-se in the American sense

Here in NZ we have a big ambulance service and a little ambulance service plus the Defence Force Medics. The big ambulance service has a Clinical Management Group which consists of four Physicians consisting of one dual Consultant Anaesthetist/Intensivest who is the "Clinical Director" and three Consultant Emergency Physicians; the little ambulance service has a "Medical Director" who is a Consultant Emergency Physician while the Defence Force has a Consultant General Practitioner who is the Director General of Defence Forth Health. Each of the three entities looks after clinical issues specific to their service.

Scopes of Practice for each level (Technician, Paramedic and Intensive Care Paramedic) and the Clinical Practice Guidelines are nationally agreed to between the two services and the Defence Force and national issues such as these are addressed through the National Ambulance Sector Clinical Working Group which consists of three members of the big ambulance services' clinical management group, the clinical manager of the big ambulance service who is an Intensive Care Paramedic, the medical director and clinical manager of the small ambulance service plus the defence force GP and one or two other clinical types.

The clinical director for the big ambulance service is an absolutely brilliant gentleman, he has taken the ambulance service leaps and bounds and so far from where it was ten years ago it's not even funny. He is a dual qualified Consultant Anaesthetist and Intensive Care Medicine specialist (FANZCA/FJCICM) and has forgotten more about medicine than I can ever hope to know! He's one of the most approachable and down-to-earth people ever and will go out of his way to help where he can, although he managed clinical issues with his team for over 3,000 Ambulance Officers so might tell you politely to talk to a more appropriate person but he will always respond to you personally. I have much respect for him and think he does wonderful work, because he does!

Man love for Tony Smith or what right here?

Edited April 24, 2012 by Kiwiology

[Just Plain Ruff]

There is an area in middle missouri where one physician is the medical director for at least 8 different EMS agencies. He's directly involved in 4 of them ergo involved in the day to day operations and he's involved in only the periphery of the other four only.

IN at least one of them he visits them on a weekly basis.

I know that for that one service that he's so involved in he's getting paid much more than the other services.

He provides the services with generic protocols and each service decides what they want their medics to do and then he develops the protocols to fit the services.

RSI or not

Cric's or not

What narcs they can carry

etc etc etc.

He's a well respected physician with a position at a level 1 trauma hospital in central mIssouri. He's also a adjunct faculty at the University as well.

I'm not sure what other services he is the director for but if he can cover for 8 services I'm sure he covers for others as well.

It seems like it would be a lucrative deal for a doctor.

[JPINFV]

The county medical director where I live is the individiual the runs the system as a whole, including the requirments for EMT and paramedic licensure, service licensure, and hospital licensure in regards to the EMS system ("paramedic receiving centers" and "paramedic trauma receiving centers"). He also sets the protocol for all of the services and is involved if anything gets reported to the county. While I can't find the link right now, the county medical director's reimbursment is a matter of public record and runs around $100k.

[Just Plain Ruff]

JP you are talking about a medical director who probably this is probably his only gig. Being medical director for your county is a huge job. I don't know how many calls your county runs but I believe your county is pretty big.

They services I was referring to are pretty small. The one where this doc is so involved in may run only 800 calls in a single year.

The total number of calls this director I referred to has to oversee may come to a grand total of about 10K total. Of which maybe 10% need to be reviewed or whatever.

STill pretty lucrative if you ask me.

[systemet]

It seems like it would be a lucrative deal for a doctor.

I think it can be --- but, the physician is also accepting some vicarious liability for the paramedics under his or her medical direction, and depending on local politics, may have little say over training or disciplinary matters. While they might be able to restrict protocols in a poor system ---when a mistake happens (and they happen in both good and bad systems) they're someone with liability insurance who's an easy target.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Yep there is that as well but with a service with only 800 calls which pays the director a set fee and he only has to work 20 hours a month, it makes it pretty cushy. But yes, easy target as well.

[runswithneedles]

So it occurred to me - some medical directors are very involved while others are very uninvolved the level of commitment you see with some makes me wonder if it is because they are paid well to be involved or whether they just enjoy it.

How much have you heard of medical directors getting paid - private or city, how many ambulances.

To be quite honest I dont even know the range of pay

Ive met mine once. And ive been at (insert name of amulance here) for over a year and 3 months now