Standby Calls for EMS

It is easy to book and run a standby event in AngelTrack!

Scheduling

Standby calls are scheduled like any other trip. There is a built-in choice in the "Complaint" field named "Standby", with an accompanying "Reason for Standby" field. You can book standby calls up to two years in advance.

(Agencies who have use the Enterprise PCR can add custom choices to the Complaint and Reason for Standby fields that act like standby calls. For example, you could add choice to the Complaint field for "Fair Grounds First Aid Station" that acts like the built-in "Standby" choice.)

Standby calls do not have destinations. If a crew on standby decides to transport, the destination can be added later, as discussed below.

Create the standby call for whatever service level is required -- usually BLS.

If your standby service requires more than one crew and vehicle, then book the call multiple times, so that you can pre-assign multiple crews, and so that your schedule will fully reflect the upcoming demand for crews.

Dispatching a Catch-and-Release Encounter

If the standby crew takes a case, treats, and then releases, they will need to attach a patient to the run-ticket and fill out a chart. They can do all of this while they are still marked "On scene" for the standby call.

After they release the patient, the dispatcher can close the call, then create a new "Standby" dispatch, assign it to the crew, and mark them "On scene" as they resume their post.

If you bill by the minute for standby calls, be sure to leave complaint datafield of both trips set to "Standby", so that AngelTrack knows to apply standby pricing to the amount of time the crew spent on-scene. If that is not practical, then you can book an additional call for each patient the crew treats, leaving them always "On scene" for their standby call the entire time they are present.

Dispatching a Transport

If the standby crew takes a case and then decides to transport, they call it in to a dispatcher, who will modify their currently-assigned "Standby" run ticket by setting a complaint and a destination. AngelTrack will then show the crew the "Begin Transport" progress button, which they can press once they are rolling.

After the transport, and assuming they return to the event, the dispatcher will create a new "Standby" call and assign it to them. They can then mark themselves "Enroute" to the event, where they will remain "On scene" until their next case or the event ends.

The aforementioned advice does not work if you are billing by the minute for the standby service, in which case you must book an additional dispatch for each treat+transport, and assign it to the same crew as a secondary call, thus keeping the clock running on their "Standby" dispatch while they do their charting on the treatment dispatch.

Completing a Standby Call Where Nothing Happened

At the end of a standby event, a dispatcher can simply close the currently open "Standby" run ticket -- the one where the crew is marked "On scene".

The crew will have a very simple chart to complete, just marking their disposition as standby / no patient and touching up their times as necessary. Upon entering the PCR AngelTrack will require them to attach a blank patient record, as a matter of course, but will not require them to provide any patient information.

Vertex Routing Engine

The Vertex Routing Engine assumes that every standby call will take three hours. Of course the call can always run longer, as necessary.

Vertex will assign standby calls to qualified crews just like it would assign any other no-transport call.

If using Vertex Self-Drive to auto-dispatch your crews, and if the standby crew eventually decides to transport, then they already have the ability to set their destination (as part of unattended-mode privileges), which will automatically change their call's Complaint from "Standby" to "Sick person", and attach the selected destination facility.

After the transport, if the crew is to resume their standby duties, then either the crew (using self-dispatch privileges) or a dispatcher  must book another standby dispatch, and assign it to them.

QA Review

QA review of standby calls is just like for other catch-and-release encounters.

Billing

Billing for standby calls is the same as for any other no-transport calls, with one important exception: Along with well-person checks, standby calls are subject to per-minute charges for time spent on-scene.

This will depend on which price schedule (including any facility or affiliate contract prices) apply to the call. Learn more about this by visiting the Pricing Guide.

State Uploads

Standby calls may or may not be reportable to your state, depending on the service level provided and on whether your state wants uploads of no-transport encounters.

To configure AngelTrack's settings for which service levels are state reportable, visit the Service Levels Configuration page under Settings.

To configure AngelTrack's setting for whether no-transport encounters are state reportable, visit the Preferences page under Settings.

Reporting

Standby calls appear in AngelTrack's various reports and datasets, with the following caveats:

• They are excluded by certain reports which only look at transports (e.g. transport mileage reports, TOT reports).

• If nothing happens on the standby call, and if the dispatcher closes the standby as cancelled rather than completed, the trip will disappear from most of AngelTrack's reports.

• If the standby call doesn't get assigned to a unit, but rather just sits unassigned on the dispatch board, then the only way to close it will be as a cancellation, which causes the aforementioned problem.

If your report has a 'Complaint' filter, you can filter standby calls in or out by their Complaint value.