Emergency Medical Services

The Battalion Chief of Technical Services oversees all aspects of the Emergency Medical Section of the Richardson Fire Department. He/she works with Medical Control to provide Continuing Education classes to keep medical personnel current on the latest procedures in EMS. This Battalion Chief ensures all ambulances are properly equipped as set forth by the Texas Department of Health. This Battalion Chief also serves as the principle representative of the department in dealing with the general public concerning EMS issues and serves as the liaison between the Fire Department and area hospitals.

EMS and Patient Privacy
The first-ever federal privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers took effect on April 14, 2003. Developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), these new standards provide patients with access to their medical records and more control over how their personal health information is used and disclosed. They represent a uniform, federal floor of privacy protections for consumers across the country. State laws providing additional protections to consumers are not affected by this new rule.

Congress called on HHS to issue patient privacy protections as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA included provisions designed to encourage electronic transactions and also required new safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of health information. The final regulation covers health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers who conduct certain financial and administrative transactions (e.g., enrollment, billing and eligibility verification) electronically. Most health insurers, pharmacies, doctors and other health care providers were required to comply with these federal standards beginning April 14, 2003. As provided by Congress, certain small health plans have an additional year to comply.

The new privacy regulations ensure a national floor of privacy protections for patients by limiting the ways that health plans, pharmacies, hospitals and other covered entities can use patients' personal medical information. The regulations protect medical records and other individually identifiable health information, whether it is on paper, in computers or communicated orally. Additional information regarding HIPAA and patient privacy can be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.

See HIPAA Privacy Notice