§ 10-116. Patient destination.

Medical protocols, issued by a licensee's medical director shall establish protocols for selection of the destination hospital for each service issued a certificate hereunder, which protocols shall be strictly followed by paramedic personnel and online medical control physicians, except when a departure from protocol is justified on the basis of special considerations of patient care or practical barriers to implementation (i.e., blocked roads, hospital divert status, etc.). In establishing "transport destination protocols," the respective licensee's medical director and the medical advisory committee shall strictly adhere to the following priorities of consideration, and shall recognize these priorities in the sequence presented:

(1)

First consideration: Patient care and safety.

Trauma transport protocols will be used to determine patient destination for trauma alert patients. In county and out of county hospitals are utilized in trauma guidelines and should be considered in other life threatening situations. Consideration should include the patient's condition, location, medical requirements and the respective capabilities of the trauma alert hospital in or out of the county.

(2)

Second consideration: Patient/family choices, given service availability of the respective hospital.

(3)

Third consideration: Fairness in distribution of patients residing in Marion County among Marion County hospitals.

(Ord. No. 14-04, § 6, 3-4-14)