Guideline 1-200-72 - EMS Dispatch: Transfer Priority Calculator

CMH EMS & MIH Protocols

Date:

Name of person completing this form:

Patient sticker here
Patient diagnosis Check MULTIPLE Points possible Points given
Patient diagnosed with a recent (within four hours) TCD (Trauma, Stroke, STEMI, or Sepsis). 10
Patient currently has a life-threatening condition that has to be transported as soon as possible. 10
Patient needs ugent (within four hours) surgery or critical treatment for a medical or trauma condition. 10
Patient has an urgent (within four hours) need for obstetrics (OB) care. 10
Other considerations Check MULTIPLE Points possible Points given
Patient currently requiring ALS care (i.e. airway management, medication administration, and/or cardiac monitoring). 5
Transport must be initiated within two (2) hours or they will lose the bed assignment at the destination. 3
Before this transfer request, how many patients are currently waiting in this department for an ambulance? Do not include this transfer request in the total. 1 per patient
Patient's current location Check ONLY ONE Points possible Points given
Patient currently located in an Emergency Room. 6
Patient currently located in a Cath Lab. 5
Patient currently located in an Obstetrics Department. 3
Patient currently located in an Intensive Care Unit. 2
Patient currently located in a location not listed above. 0
Destination Check ONLY ONE Points possible Points given
Destination is an Emergency Room. 7
Destination is an Intensive Care Unit. 2
Destination is a location not listed above. 0
Destination distance Check ONLY ONE Points possible Points given
Destination is less than 10 miles away (i.e. local). 4
Destination is between 10 and 100 miles away. 0
Destination is GREATER than 100 miles away (i.e. LDT). -8 (subtract 8 points)

Select the priority level based on points and table below:

Priority Priority name Dispatch conditions Ambulance response Minimum score required
1 Life-saving transfer Will be dispatched immediately. The closest ALS ambulance (including mutual aid) will be dispatched.
Note: Please consider an air ambulance.		 Lights and siren immediately. 20
2 Critical transfer Will be dispatched only if at least one other ALS ambulance is available in the county for 9-1-1 coverage. NO lights and siren at time of dispatch. 10
3 Ugent transfer Will be dispatched only if at least two other ambulances (at least one ALS) is available in the county for 9-1-1 coverage.
Note: In Cedar County, only one 9-1-1 coverage ambulance is needed. Priority 2 and 3 are the same in Cedar County.		 5
4 Scheduled transfer Will be dispatched after contacting the PHS leadership. The leader may call in an extra crew, have a crew hold over, or other decision to best manage the transfer. BLS transfers may be held overnight due to limited ambulance availability. NO lights and siren at the scheduled time. 0

Citations:

Change Log:

DateLink to
previous
version		Description of change
05/28/20Created this protocolmoved the content from 1-200. Built a new calculator for approval.
07/01/20Removed old parts of previous policy to eliminate confusion during approval process on PolicyStat.
10/07/20Renumbered 1-200-03 to 1-200-72. Renamed all policies to guidelines.
11/10/20pdfFormatting change to make hard-copy printing better. Moved the comment of holding priority 4 BLS transfers overnight from PHS01-10.
02/10/21pdfModified page breaks to allow better printing and inserting into PolicyStat.
06/05/21pdfMoved to emsprotocols.online

Return to Protocols Table of Contents.

Search protocols:

CMH Pre-Hospital Services Mission: "Provide safe, exceptional, and compassionate care to our communities with an emphasis on highly trained and empowered staff." CMH Mobile Integrated Healthcare Mission: "Provide exceptional, compassionate, and patient-centered care by a mobile collaborative team to improve patient experience, improve quality outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs."
Creative Commons License Polk, Hickory, Cedar, & St Clair County EMS Protocols is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.