{"id":448,"date":"2021-07-06T21:15:50","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T21:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/?p=448"},"modified":"2021-07-06T21:15:50","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T21:15:50","slug":"new-body-worn-camera-guide-for-ems-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/?p=448","title":{"rendered":"New Body-Worn Camera Guide for EMS Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n<p>Body-worn\ncameras (BWCs)&nbsp;are not yet in widespread use in EMS nationwide, but\ninterest is growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Organizations\nthat have employed BWCs have realized significant benefits from BWC use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nexample, according to ems.gov, BWCs can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Visually document the patient\u2019s condition and behavior in real-time;<\/li><li>Promote EMS practitioner accountability;<\/li><li>Capture illegal or unprofessional conduct;<\/li><li>Record adherence to, or failure to follow, protocols;<\/li><li>Record patient\/practitioner interactions;<\/li><li>Resolve complaints against EMS practitioners;<\/li><li>Assist in quality improvement;<\/li><li>Offer effective scenario-based training; and<\/li><li>Serve as evidence in litigation or other.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However,\nEMS agencies must evaluate legal, financial, and other issues (<em>e.g.,&nbsp;<\/em>public\nperception, staff impact, potential union bargaining, etc.) to determine if\nBWCs are right for their organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To\nhelp guide agencies, the National Emergency Medical Services Information System\nTechnical Assistance Center (NEMSIS TAC), in cooperation with the legal firm\nPage, Wolfberg &amp; Wirth, has released the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nemsis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/EMS-Body-worn-Camera-Quickstart-Guide_Legal-Considerations_06.2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EMS\nBodyworn Camera Quickstart Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nguide provides an overview of general legal issues for EMS agencies thinking\nabout using body-worn cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An\noverview of these key legal considerations for EMS agencies are covered in the\nnew document:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Federal HIPAA standards;<\/li><li>State invasion of privacy laws;<\/li><li>State wiretap\/eavesdropping laws;<\/li><li>State open records laws;<\/li><li>Data retention requirements; and<\/li><li>Developing a body-worn camera policy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Every\nEMS agency considering the use of body-worn cameras must evaluate not just\nlegal issues but financial considerations, public perception, impact on staff,\npotential union bargaining, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nFederal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) permits EMS\nagencies to capture private health information (PHI) with BWCs and to use BWC\nrecordings for treatment, healthcare operations, and other reasons permitted by\nthe Privacy Rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Often,\nEMS agencies use BWC records for healthcare operations activities identified in\nHIPAA, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Quality assessment and quality improvement (QA\/QI);<\/li><li>Developing clinical protocols and guidelines; and<\/li><li>Evaluation of patient safety.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nthe UK, thousands of ambulance crews in England will be given body cameras\nafter a sharp rise in attacks on NHS staff treating patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gary\nWatson, an emergency ambulance crew member who works for the London ambulance\nservice, said, \u201cThey (BWCs) act as a deterrent and will also help provide\nevidence if there is an attack. We go to work to help people, not to be\nassaulted. It\u2019s disgusting that a minority think it\u2019s OK to behave in such a\nviolent way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data\nshows that 3,569 ambulance staff were physically assaulted by members of the\npublic last year\u201430% more than in 2016-17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\nin the US, Cypress Creek, TX, EMS Executive Director Bradley England said, \u201cBy\noffering all first responders the opportunity to capture and share critical\nvideo and other data on one network, they are able to seamlessly work together\nto improve health and safety in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Safety Unlimited EMS Director, Mark Komins<\/strong>, said, \u201cIt will take some\ngetting used to, but needed. It will protect patients, bystanders, and\nresponders.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Body-worn cameras (BWCs)&nbsp;are not yet in widespread use in EMS nationwide, but interest is growing. Organizations that have employed BWCs have realized significant benefits from BWC use. For example, according to ems.gov, BWCs can: Visually document the patient\u2019s condition and behavior in real-time; Promote EMS practitioner accountability; Capture illegal or&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[29,45,64,68,88],"class_list":["post-448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-new-in-ems","tag-bwc","tag-ems","tag-hipaa","tag-legal","tag-safety"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/emsmatters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Picture1.jpg?fit=643%2C438&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":521,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions\/521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emsmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}