July 1, 2008
BC Ambulance Service is undertaking a fundamental change in its approach to patient care through the transition to new Treatment Guidelines, a combination of best practice and evidenced based medicine designed to better equip paramedics to make informed decisions in the field.
First introduced in May 2008, the Treatment Guidelines represent an innovative way of thinking about how BCAS paramedics approach decisions to provide the most appropriate care for their patients. In the past, BCAS paramedics adhered to a prescriptive treatment process, matching patient symptoms to an algorithmic protocol and following the steps of that protocol to determine the appropriate level of care. Through the new Treatment Guidelines, BCAS paramedics are now considering the full scope of interventions required for optimal care and, within their scope of practice, focusing on the treatment goals for a particular patient rather than the steps of a protocol.
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