Wash. Admin. Code § 246-976-445 - EMS data system-Department responsibilities
(1) Purpose: The
department maintains a statewide electronic emergency medical services data
system, as required by
RCW
70.168.090. The purpose of this data system
is to:
(a) Provide data for EMS activity
surveillance, analysis, and quality assurance programs;
(b) Monitor and evaluate the outcome of care
provided by EMS services personnel, in support of statewide and regional
quality assurance and system evaluation activities;
(c) Assess compliance with state standards
for EMS care (chapters 18.71, 18.73, 70.168 RCW and this chapter);
(d) Provide information for resource
planning, system design and management; and
(e) Provide a resource for research and
education.
(2)
Confidentiality:
RCW
70.168.090 and chapter 42.56 RCW apply to EMS
data, records, and reports developed pursuant to
RCW
70.168.090. Data elements related to the
identification of individual patient's, provider's, and facility's care
outcomes shall be confidential, shall be exempt from chapter 42.56 RCW, and
shall not be subject to discovery by subpoena or admissible as evidence.
Patient care quality assurance proceedings, records, and reports developed
pursuant to
RCW
70.168.090 are confidential, exempt from
chapter 42.56 RCW, and are not subject to discovery by subpoena or admissible
as evidence.
(a) The department may release
confidential information from the electronic EMS data system in compliance with
applicable laws and regulations. No other person may release confidential
information from the data system without express written permission from the
department.
(b) The department may
approve requests for EMS data system data and reports consistent with
applicable statutes and rules.
(c)
The department has established criteria defining situations in which EMS data
system information is confidential and situations in which data may be shared,
in order to protect confidentiality for patients, providers, and
facilities.
(d) Subsection (2)(a)
through (c) of this section does not limit access to confidential data by
approved regional quality assurance and improvement programs and medical
program directors established under chapter 70.168 RCW and described in WAC
246-976-910 and
246-976-920.
(3) Data submission: The department
establishes and maintains procedures and format for ambulance and aid services
to submit data electronically. Reporting mechanisms will meet state
requirements for data security, data interoperability, and national reporting
standards. These will include a mechanism for the reporting agency to check
data for validity and completeness before data is sent to WEMSIS.
(4) Data quality: The department establishes
mechanisms to evaluate the quality of EMS data. These mechanisms will include:
(a) Detailed protocols for quality control,
consistent with the department's most current data quality
guidelines.
(b) Validity studies to
assess the timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of case identification and
data collection.
(5)
Data reports and data sharing: The department may create, release, and provide
access to data files and reports in accordance with
RCW
70.168.090. The type of information contained
in the file, including direct and indirect patient, provider and facility
identifiers, determines the permitted release of, or access to, the data file
or report.
(a) Annually, the department
reports:
(i) Summary statistics and trends for
demographic and related EMS care and activity information for the state and for
each emergency medical service/trauma care (EMS/TC) region;
(ii) Benchmarking and performance measures,
for system-wide evaluation and regional quality improvement programs;
(iii) Trends, patient care outcomes, and
other data, for the state and each EMS/TC region, for the purpose of regional
evaluation; and
(iv) Aggregate
regional data upon request, excluding any confidential or identifying
data.
(b) The department
will provide reports to EMS services, approved regional quality assurance and
improvement programs and medical program directors upon request, according to
the confidentiality provisions in subsection (2) of this section and all
applicable laws and regulations.
(c) In order to comply with WAC
246-976-920, the department may
provide aggregate reports and directly identifiable patient record access to
medical program directors for EMS services within their jurisdiction.
(d) In order to comply with
RCW
70.168.090, the department will provide
reports, patient data and record access related to suspected drug overdoses to
government agencies, including local public health agencies, tribal
authorities, and other organizations at the discretion of the department, for
the purposes of including, but not limited to, identifying individuals to
engage substance use disorder peer professionals, patient navigators, outreach
workers, and other professionals as appropriate to prevent further overdoses
and to induct into treatment and provide other needed supports as may be
available. Data for this purpose will be provided upon request and according to
the confidentiality provisions in subsection (2) of this section and all
applicable laws and regulations.
(e) The department may share confidential
data files containing one or more direct patient identifiers with researchers
with approval from the Washington state institutional review board (IRB) and a
signed confidentiality agreement. The department may also require researchers
to enter into a data sharing agreement.
(f) The department may provide a hospital
with access to the complete electronic patient care report for activations in
which the patient was delivered to their facility.
(g) The department may provide data and
reports to other parties not listed in (c) through (f) of this subsection upon
request, according to the confidentiality provisions in subsection (2) of this
section and all applicable laws and regulations.
(h) When fulfilling a request for data, the
department may provide the fewest data elements and patient records necessary
for the stated purpose of a requestor's project.
Notes
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