Page, Wolfberg, and Wirth (PWW), the national EMS industry law firm, unveiled their Certified Ambulance Documentation Specialist (CADS) course on Monday, October 23 in conjunction with their Xi and abc360 conferences taking place this week in Hershey, Pa. Aimed at developing documentation specialists in the EMS industry, and developed specifically for Paramedics, EMTs and other EMS professionals, the course is offered through the National Academy of Ambulance Compliance (NAAC).
A new session, and the only documentation course that offers certification through a national organization, CADS brings together the clinical, operational and financial aspects of EMS documentation.
A Need for Better Documentation
As the landscape of healthcare continues to change, the way we document it must change as well. “EMS leaders consistently identify documentation as one of their biggest ongoing challenges regarding their workforce,” says Doug Wolfberg. PWW spends a significant amount of time working with clients on Medicare audits and false claim lawsuits and, as Wolfberg adds, “poor documentation is a common issue in these types of cases.”
Steve Wirth echoes this need in the industry: “Everywhere we go, EMS leaders tell us of their concern about the quality of EMS documentation–it’s just not as good as it needs to be. It’s by far the number one concern of EMS leaders–and rightly so.” In an environment where healthcare providers are increasingly being scurinized and held accountable, docuentation is of utmost importance.
“This was a challenge that was crying out for a new standardized curriculum and specialty certification,” says Wolfberg.
It was a full house on Monday for the first ever NAAC CADS course, which sold out in only three weeks.
A Unique Perspective
The CADS certification course is unique in many ways. Most importantly, it provides a wholistic view of EMS docuemntation by blending the clinical, operational and financial aspects of EMS documentation. The course reviews documentation frameworks, the pitfalls of standardized documentation, examples of good and bad chart writing and actual cases.
There’s focus on developing a good clinical narrative, documenting trauma and medical patient assessments, treatments and interventions, patient refusals of care, law enforcement situations and host of other issues of daily importance to EMS field providers. This training will provide a “practical framework for improving patient care documentation to make things a bit easier for those who oversee EMS documentation,” says Wirth.
Steve Wirth addresses the first ever CADS cohort.
What’s next for CADS?
The response to this new course, which is open to Paramedics, EMTS and other EMS professionals, has been incredible. Today’s course was completely sold out, with 150 EMS professionals attending. Due to the incredibly high demand, “we had to close down registration,” Wirth told the audience at the beginning of the day.
What’s the overall objective for this next step in EMS Documentation? 100% certification. PWW, along with NAAC would like to see an industry that’s filled with field providers who are certified in documentation best practices. “If EMS practitioners want to reduce their chances of ending up in court, or successfully defending themselves if they end up in court, their documentation simply must be top-notch,” says Doug Wolfberg.
The course will be offered three more times over the next year. PWW can also do on-site training with your agency or organization. The CADS course will also be available online starting in 2018, so EMS agencies will have multiple options for obtaining this important training.
For more information please visit the NAAC’s page or send inquires to naacinfo@ambulancecompliance.com
Photo courtesy PWW Media.
