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Pre-Arrival Notification of Known or Suspected COVID-19 Patient |
On March 24, 2020, Amy Acton, MD, MPH, Director of the Ohio Department of Health, provided guidance to all Ohio Health Commissioners and Boards of Health on sharing COVID-19 information with First Responders. Dr. Acton’s communique noted, “disclosure of protected health is necessary to avert or mitigate a clear threat to an individual or to the public health, the Department supports releasing that information only to those persons or entities necessary to control, prevent, or mitigate disease. (Ohio Revised Code 3701.17(B)(4)) This includes, but is not limited to, law enforcement, paramedics, firefighters, EMS personnel or other first responders. It is important that confidentiality is ensured, and the disclosure is limited.”
We request that you complete this brief survey of all Ohio EMS agencies concerning notification of a known or suspected COVID-19 patient prior to your agency’s arrival on scene. Please complete the following survey by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Only aggregated, de-identified data will be used to tabulate the results.
We request that you complete this brief survey of all Ohio EMS agencies concerning notification of a known or suspected COVID-19 patient prior to your agency’s arrival on scene. Please complete the following survey by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Only aggregated, de-identified data will be used to tabulate the results.
Thank you for your assistance and time. We especially appreciate you and your agency’s continued dedication to Ohio’s EMS system during this pandemic. Please stay safe and remain vigilant for all personal precautions.