EMS Agency Medical Direction

Every licensed EMS agency must have an EMS agency medical director.

EMS Agency Medical Director

  • Role:
    • Provide medical guidance and advice to the EMS agency, including:
      • Reviewing EMS protocols and ensuring providers are familiar
      • Performing medical audits of EMS provided by the EMS agency's providers
      • Participating in and reviewing quality improvement and peer reviews of EMS provided
      • Reviewing the regional mass casualty and disaster plans and providing guidance to the agency
      • Providing guidance regarding ordering, stocking, and replacement of medications and compliance with laws and regulations impacting EMS regarding acquisition, storage, and use of those medications
      • Making an initial skills assessment of each EMS provider at or above the AEMT level and perform annual assessments of each EMS provider at or above the AEMT level
      • Recommending when a provider is not permitted to provide EMS at the EMS provider's certification level
      • Providing medical direction for the EMS agency's dispatch center if applicable
    • Be a liaison with the regional EMS medical director
    • Participate in regional and statewide quality improvement programs
    • Recommend protocol inclusions to the regional EMS council
    • Recommend the suspension, revocation, or restriction of an EMS provider's certification to the Department
  • Minimum Qualifications:
    • Be a physician licensed in Pennsylvania
    • Satisfy one of the following:
      • Have successfully completed an emergency medicine residency program accredited by a residency program accrediting body recognized by the State Board of Medicine or the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine
      • Have successfully completed a residency program in surgery, internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, or anesthesiology accredited by a residency program accrediting body recognized by the State Board of Medicine or the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The physician shall also have successfully completed or taught the ACLS course within the preceding two years and have completed, at least once, the ATLS course and PALS course or APLS course, or other programs determined by the Department to meet or exceed the standards of these programs.
      • Have served as an ALS medical director under the previous EMS Act prior to February 16, 2010.
    • Have a valid Drug Enforcement Agencu number
    • Have completed an EMS agency medical director course or an EMS fellowship or other EMS training program as determined by the Department.

 

When an EMS agency selects their EMS agency medical director, they will need to submit a copy of the agreement to the EHSF.

View Sample Agreements

 

Another helpful resource for EMS agency medical directors is the Handbook for EMS Agency Medical Directors by FEMA.

View the Handbook for EMS Agency Medical Directors