The Role of Professional Standards
The Professional Standards Division is managed by the Deputy Chief, Professional Standards. The role of Professional Standards is to promote high quality patient care through continuous quality improvement processes such as the continual monitoring and evaluation of the care and service paramedics provide to patients. This division provides integral oversight into legislative compliance, certification, information requests, paramedic training and education, continuing quality improvement strategies, statistical data collection and analysis, investigations and audits to ensure mandatory compliance.
By utilizing the iMedic electronic Ambulance Call Reporting process and through the role of Quality Assurance, we are able to identify requirements for enhanced training opportunities and education which will ensure a continuous development of excellence towards patient care and the paramedic’s professional development. This process will also identify areas where we are meeting or exceeding the standards of care and will allow the opportunity to provide positive feedback and acknowledgement to our paramedics.
Quality assurance also involves regular interaction with paramedics, medical directors, allied agencies, and most importantly citizens to ensure that the best and most important care is being provided.
Middlesex-London Paramedic Service is a health information custodian under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PIHPA)
In summary, PHIPA gives patients:
- The right to expect that to the best of our ability, the information held by us remains accurate, confidential and secure;
- The right to request a copy of their record and to ask us to correct any inaccuracies found.
Middlesex-London Paramedic Service uses numerous electronic and physical safeguards to protect patient personal health information. Only those directly involved in patient care or those with a legal right to see the records are allowed access. Non-identifying information from these records can however, be used for various EMS planning, administrative and quality assurance practices.
To obtain a copy of an ambulance call report (note that there is a charge for this service):
- A patient should forward a request along with all available call details, i.e., at a minimum: the patient’s name, call date and time, call location
- Insurance companies and law firms should include call details on company letterhead, and include a signed release from the patient
Requests should be forwarded to the Deputy Chief, Professional Standards.
Once the record is located and ready for pickup, the requester will be advised, and arrangements made for pickup or delivery. Patients will be required to identify themselves through government photo ID when picking up the documents. Similarly, individuals with power of attorney will be required to present both photo ID and the power of attorney documents at pickup. A copy of the identification documents will be kept on file by Middlesex-London Paramedic Service.
Please note that Middlesex-London Paramedic Service does not archive ambulance dispatch records. These can be requested from the Ministry of Health and Long Term, Manager, Access Privacy and Corporate Coordination: 416-327-7040.
Concerns on Emergency Medical Services or Paramedic Care
Those with concerns, compliments or complaints regarding our emergency medical service may contact the Deputy Chief, Professional Standards.