Within a few days of legislative review and approval of the amendments to our ambulance regulations that incorporated the new run form requirement, we initiated the process to have them printed. We were initially assured by the state's print shop that they would be ready in plenty of time for the April 1st deadline. Unfortunately the size and complexity of the print job took much more time than thought. As of today, the print shop hopes to have the job completed in the next few days. Our office has made arrangements for each licensed ground ambulance service in the state to be sent an initial 3-month supply of the new forms. When you receive the new forms, you are free to use them or continue to use the old run form (as long as the supply holds out) until June 30th. Starting July 1st, the new run forms or a run form of your own design based on the new Kentucky minimum must be used.

As most of you know, the new run form is actually a two-page form. Page 1 of the new form contains all patient identifier information, dispatch data, aid before arrival, patient assessment, BLS procedure codes, transport, and destination information. On the rear of the top copy of Page 1 is patient billing information, including mileage, along with patient release statements. Page 2 contains ALS/BLS procedure codes, injury data, and space for expanded narrative. As designed, most ambulance runs would only require completion of Page 1. Page 2 would be necessary for ALS runs, trauma/injury runs, and where there is need for expanded narrative.

The new regulations provide Class I ground ambulance services several options for collecting run data and submitting required run form data to the Cabinet:

1. Services may utilize the new state run form or may custom design their own unique run form based on their own protocols or preferences so long as the locally developed form contains all data contained in the Kentucky minimum data set as shown on the Kentucky run form. Prior review and approval is required from the Cabinet to ensure that all data items are included.

2. Services may opt to utilize a totally electronic, paperless data collection process so long as the electronic data system has been shown to include all state required data from the Kentucky data set.

3. All services are required to supply run form data to the Cabinet in a timely manner as described in the regulation. This can be by submission of hard copies of the actual run forms or through submission of data by diskette or other electronic means. For services that wish to submit data electronically, we will provide a copy of our file layout requirements on request for your software vendor.

Besides the run forms themselves, our office will be distributing a manual for completing the run forms to each service in the next two weeks. In addition to the manual, several alternatives for training your staff on how to complete the new form are in the works. Perhaps most exciting, the Louisville Fire Department is making plans to hold their own in-house training on the new form. LFD will video tape the training using their own production facilities. Once the tape is ready, the Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association has offered to distribute copies of the tape to its members. There may be a nominal charge for non-members.

The Cabinet is working with the Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center (KIPRC) at the University of Kentucky to develop and expand a Kentucky EMS Information System. KIPRC is working with us to develop an annual report summarizing EMS run form data that we receive in electronic format to give us a picture of how EMS operates and what it provides. For the first time you will be receiving feedback on the run data we receive and an opportunity to compare your service with your peers across the Commonwealth.

Since we can only analyze data that is submitted in electronic format, we encourage all ambulance services to provide their data electronically rather than on hard copies. To facilitate electronic capture and give local service directors a tool for collecting and analyzing their own run data, KIPRC has obtained the statewide license to a ambulance management software program, Medic!, that is available without charge to any Kentucky licensed ambulance service. Medic! does not have billing and reimbursement capabilities but it does have the capacity to import or export data to most ambulance billing programs. If you would like to look at Medic! as either a primary data collector or as an adjunct to your present data system, contact Robert Williams at KIPRC (606/257-5809) for information on how you can get a copy. The folks at KIPRC have also been in touch with most of the EMS software vendors who serve Kentucky ambulance services (Software Development, Inc., Sweetsoft, etc.) to provide them with copies of the file layout needed to comply with the new Kentucky prehospital data set requirements. If you are happy with your software vendor or computerized billing service, ask that they get in touch with KIPRC to ensure that you can continue to meet state run form data requirements and help us build a comprehensive Kentucky EMS Information System to help us all!

Finally, I wish to thank the ambulance service personnel who have worked with us over the past 2 ½ years to develop and adopt the new run form in order to provide the building block for an effective EMS information system. Our ad-hoc data committee, chaired by James Ritchey of Anderson County EMS, met many times, and had the input and participation of dozens of individuals who realized that without solid dependable data, we will never be able to document the benefit and contribution of EMS across the state and identify the areas for improvement.

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