Ambulance Recording Device Help

[gallagher073]

I'm in the process of putting together the spec for a new ambulance and as part protection for our crews I'm looking for an on-demand patient compartment recorder for those calls that make you nervous.


I don't want to record every call, just calls of female patients, ETOH calls, and C.I calls. Or when the primary caregiver deems it necessary.


What does everyone recommend? Pictures would be VERY helpful!

 

[MESDA6]

Others will chime in with equipment - but you need to record every call, automatically, without intervention from a crew member.


If a crew member can turn on the recording, they can also turn it off - opening you to even more liability. The system should be in a locked video vault with no crew member access. You must have an additional layer of key control for the video vault or the system controls, otherwise the thing is useless if everyone has access to it.


I know your intentions are good to protect your crews, but that works both ways. The system also needs to be there to protect every patient.


Good luck with the new ambulance. It's always fun to have a hand in designing a unit that is built for the way you operate.

 

[gallagher073]

Others will chime in with equipment - but you need to record every call, automatically, without intervention from a crew member.

If a crew member can turn on the recording, they can also turn it off - opening you to even more liability. The system should be in a locked video vault with no crew member access. You must have an additional layer of key control for the video vault or the system controls, otherwise the thing is useless if everyone has access to it.


I know your intentions are good to protect your crews, but that works both ways. The system also needs to be there to protect every patient.


Good luck with the new ambulance. It's always fun to have a hand in designing a unit that is built for the way you operate.

The recording would be put in place to protect us, not the patient. With that said it has always been my concern that if a patient made a b.s. claim that someone touched her, or a drunk said we hit him etc I would like to have a recording to fall back on. I'm 100% in favor of recording calls as I always act professionally and don't do anything inappropriate so I naturally I have no objection. This is the opinion of all of our members as well. It would be a safeguard to protect us.


But this brings my next question. How would you save and archive the recordings so that they would be accessible a year later when you get a call from the law offices of smith smith and smith. I have a natural awareness for those "problem calls" but recording EVERY call? How would you organize them so that you could fall back on it when need it.


Which is why I thought on-demand would be more appropriate as somebody could call me and say they had "one of those calls" and make sure that we save that recording.


What do you think?

 

[MESDA6]

A good system will have a mechanism for storage and backup - whether it syncs to a server when you return to the station or the system automatically burns a DVD after so many hours of video are recorded. I haven't kept up with the systems on the market now, so hopefully some current users of these products will chime in.


The problem with not having the system run all the time is that there is no protection for anyone when, in the heat of the moment someone forgets to activate the recording, or you are way deep in before a problem surfaces and this is a call that no one thought would need to be recorded. The system should activate automatically when power is enabled to the rear compartment.


As far as what happens when Smith and Smith calls - your legal department or department attorney needs to draft a policy regarding access to, and release of the video. If the policy that is developed says video is retained for x amount of days and is only available with a subpoena, then the system should be setup to erase that video after the expiration of that timeframe. There are laws in most states pertaining to data retention timeframes by agencies and businesses. Using your attorney to draft the policy will make sure that you are in full compliance with those laws, and all applicable privacy laws.


Video and audio recording of patients can be a can of worms, and if not done in compliance with applicable privacy laws, will end up geting you sued just for recording them unless everything is in place that needs to be. The manufacturer of your ambulance should also be able to help you, as this won't be the first system they've put in place. At a minimum they should be able to put you in touch with the local rep for the manufacturer of the video equipment who can answer many of those questions easily. Your local or state medical director is probably also a good place to check for exising policies.

 

[BigWil]

Look into police in car camera systems. They can usually be set to always turn on when the vehicle is running, and can often record multiple cameras. As they are used for evidence purposes, they can be set to not be tampered with by the people in the vehicle. The Watchguard system records directly to DVD, you could easily store the DVDs in a secure location for a year or two.

 

[crescentstar69]

Wouldn't recording patients violate HIPPA? I would get a legal opinion first. (from a real attorney, not the peanut gallery)

 

[PursuitElectronics]

Panasonic Arbitrator or L3 Communications have nice systems. We use them all the time in police vehicles. They both come with an SD card (what GB the cards are depends on your needs) and can either be set up with an automatic RF upload when you return to the station or remove the SD card once a month or when it tells you its is nearing "full" status. The good thing..the SD cards are locked behind a door that ONLY an Officer, Chief or someone else designated, will have access to the recordings. You can set it up that it is "trigger or sensor" based, such as when the lights are activated, the camera turns on. It can also be set up with various other sensors that will suit you. It has GPS capabilities so it will recognize when the ambulance hits a pre-set speed, the camera automatically activates. It will also give coordinates of your exact location and roads traveled. I would prefer the L3 since it has a separate monitor that you can view directly in the truck. Since alot of crews use Panasonic Toughbooks, the Arbitrator synchs up with Toughbooks and will show everything on the computer screen. Once you get to the hospital and undock the laptop, the monitor function with turn off but still record and when you re-cradle the laptop, it will upload everything recorded. The Arbitrator will offer a password for those who are given one, to access the video coverage. You can get a rear camera and use it for training as well as evidentiary coverage should something happen while on scene or enroute. The L3 is nice because it has video playback, external speaker and all controls directly on the small 7" monitor. Their cameras are nice and small compared to the huge Arbitrator camera. It will be a horse a piece so to speak and will come down to cost and user preference when decision making comes to head. If I can be of service for you further, let me know. Send me a private message!

 

[PursuitElectronics]

Panasonic Arbitrator or L3 Communications have nice systems. We use them all the time in police vehicles. They both come with an SD card (what GB the cards are depends on your needs) and can either be set up with an automatic RF upload when you return to the station or remove the SD card once a month or when it tells you its is nearing "full" status. The good thing..the SD cards are locked behind a door that ONLY an Officer, Chief or someone else designated, will have access to the recordings. You can set it up that it is "trigger or sensor" based, such as when the lights are activated, the camera turns on. It can also be set up with various other sensors that will suit you. It has GPS capabilities so it will recognize when the ambulance hits a pre-set speed, the camera automatically activates. It will also give coordinates of your exact location and roads traveled. I would prefer the L3 since it has a separate monitor that you can view directly in the truck. Since alot of crews use Panasonic Toughbooks, the Arbitrator synchs up with Toughbooks and will show everything on the computer screen. Once you get to the hospital and undock the laptop, the monitor function with turn off but still record and when you re-cradle the laptop, it will upload everything recorded. The Arbitrator will offer a password for those who are given one, to access the video coverage. You can get a rear camera and use it for training as well as evidentiary coverage should something happen while on scene or enroute. The L3 is nice because it has video playback, external speaker and all controls directly on the small 7" monitor. Their cameras are nice and small compared to the huge Arbitrator camera. It will be a horse a piece so to speak and will come down to cost and user preference when decision making comes to head. If I can be of service for you further, let me know. Send me a private message!

I forgot to add that the L3 system comes with a crash sensor with includes a siren interface as well as Brake light sensors....these are very helpful so should the crew become involved in an accident, the crash sensor will tell the exact speed upon impact, whether brakes were applied and if emergency equipment was activated. It will also have video of the accident, should they have lights and siren activated!

 

[ems60]

If you are putting together spec's, did you check with the ambulance manufacturer that you are interested in, they have systems that intergrete into system control screens that have back up cameras and additional inputs for audio or video recording

 

[Skip Goulet]

Wouldn't recording patients violate HIPPA? I would get a legal opinion first. (from a real attorney, not the peanut gallery)

That's what I was thinking! HIPPA has gotten into everything. A few years ago when Odessa FD went to a new digital system on their radios, the then-chief had the EMS ambulance-to-hospital channel encrypted. He was told that it was a privacy issue, but in that case, it's only a privacy issue IF they use the patient's name. Just saying "We're eroute with a 33 yr. old female complaining of...." doesn't violate HIPPA, and it only becomes a privacy issue once they reach the E.R.


But video recording a patient that might be embarassed by anyone seeing them in a bad state or behaving badly (due to reduce LOC or something) might have a very strong issue.