About the Office of the Chief Medical Officer
The Office of the Chief Medical Officer and our partners will be nationally known for continuously striving to:
- Utilize the latest clinical evidence to provide high quality, innovative out-of-hospital-care to the community.
- Create a patient-centric, safety-oriented environment for both patients and providers.
- Provide meaningful contributions to the advancement of the practice and the science of pre-hospital medicine.
Clinical Practice of Out-of-Hospital Medicine
Clinical care and patient navigation is the primary function of an EMS System. Medical care of patients who encounter any component of the EMS System should be scientifically sound and appropriate for the patient condition and provider capabilities. The summation of clinical expectations of all providers and organizations in the System are contained in the Clinical Operating Guidelines. These guidelines are the end result of review of clinical evidence and professional practice guidelines.
Continuous Quality Improvement and Performance Measurement
Continuous Quality Improvement and Performance Assessment of the EMS System includes prospective, retrospective and concurrent review of all aspects of how the system operates. These aspects, potentially impact patient care, include system design and resource deployment, clinical performance, provider education, equipment implementation, appropriate time intervals, patient outcome, patient and provider satisfaction, and participation in EMS benchmarking activities.
Regulatory Functions
The Medical Director of an EMS System is required to perform several administrative regulatory functions. These are collectively accomplished through the processes developed by the OCMO. The structure of these processes are defined and supported by state statute within the Texas Health and Safety Code and The Texas Medical Board Rules, Chapter 197.
Advocacy
Advocacy includes efforts to promote concepts of out-of-hospital medical care and the profession as a whole. It includes participating in local, state, regional and national initiatives that improve the practice of medicine, patient outcomes, professional stature and attractiveness as a career option.
Online Medical Control
Physicians within the OCMO provide online guidance to EMS crews on scene, most often via a recorded telephone call. This guidance can relate to interventions that require physician approval, such as whole blood administration. EMS can also seek consultation on appropriate interventions that may be outside the treatment protocol, high risk refusals, and approval of field-initiated termination of resuscitation care.
Usage of online medical control (OLMC) data can be viewed on the following dashboard. It is interactive, and can be opened in a new browser window to view a larger size.