Biophone

[Rescue51]

Do paramedics still use biophones, and are they still like the ones on "Emergency!", or are they more techy now??

~Rescue51

 

[fast65]

No, no we do not. We don't usually call the hospital to ask about treatments, we have a set of standing orders dictating what we can and cannot do, and we have quite a broad range of treatments compared to what you've seen on Emergency.

That being said, we do on occasion, still have to call the hospital for orders, and we can use the radio or our cell phones for that.

 

[medicdan]

... A lot has changed since the mid 1970s, and trust me, we do have advanced communication technologies. I'd venture to guess you have a modern day "biophone" in your pocket right now.
In all seriousness, many areas have moved away from "mother may I" medicine, and paramedics function on standing orders allowing them to use many of the treatments in their arsenal without on-line medical control approval.

With that said, we do have the ability to communicate with the hospital for consultation with a physician (generally an attending trained in EMS protocols), Entry Notes (letting the hospital know we're en route, with a broad sense of patient presentation, facility dependent), and/or for approval for rarely-used or complicated treatments.

We have the ability to communicate verbally with the hospital by cell phone (generally on a dedicated, recorded line), via radio (in my area, coordinated through a central "CMED" dispatcher), and with telemetry (also region specific). Paramedics generally interpret live cardiac rythms, and in some areas need to transmit 12-lead electrocardiograms for ED/Cardiology interpretation of an ST-Elevation MI (Heart Attack).
For that, we generally use cell phone data connections or the internet.

Beginning a few years ago, the NEMSIS data requirements became standard in many areas, so more services are moving to electronic patient care reporting solutions (as opposed to paper reports, not seen on Emergency), and EDs generally get a faxed report within a few minutes of the crew finishing, whether they're still at the ED or not.

I know it's hard to believe, but the TV show you idolize is not a perfect picture of pre-hospital care, and a lot has changed in the years since it went off the air.

Good Luck!

 

[Rescue51]

... A lot has changed since the mid 1970s, and trust me, we do have advanced communication technologies. I'd venture to guess you have a modern day "biophone" in your pocket right now.
In all seriousness, many areas have moved away from "mother may I" medicine, and paramedics function on standing orders allowing them to use many of the treatments in their arsenal without on-line medical control approval.

With that said, we do have the ability to communicate with the hospital for consultation with a physician (generally an attending trained in EMS protocols), Entry Notes (letting the hospital know we're en route, with a broad sense of patient presentation, facility dependent), and/or for approval for rarely-used or complicated treatments.

We have the ability to communicate verbally with the hospital by cell phone (generally on a dedicated, recorded line), via radio (in my area, coordinated through a central "CMED" dispatcher), and with telemetry (also region specific). Paramedics generally interpret live cardiac rythms, and in some areas need to transmit 12-lead electrocardiograms for ED/Cardiology interpretation of an ST-Elevation MI (Heart Attack).
For that, we generally use cell phone data connections or the internet.

Beginning a few years ago, the NEMSIS data requirements became standard in many areas, so more services are moving to electronic patient care reporting solutions (as opposed to paper reports, not seen on Emergency), and EDs generally get a faxed report within a few minutes of the crew finishing, whether they're still at the ED or not.

I know it's hard to believe, but the TV show you idolize is not a perfect picture of pre-hospital care, and a lot has changed in the years since it went off the air.

Good Luck!

Cool!!! I had a feeling biophones weren't used, but I wasn't sure. Thanks!!!

 

[Rescue51]

No, no we do not. We don't usually call the hospital to ask about treatments, we have a set of standing orders dictating what we can and cannot do, and we have quite a broad range of treatments compared to what you've seen on Emergency.

That being said, we do on occasion, still have to call the hospital for orders, and we can use the radio or our cell phones for that.

Thank you!!!^_^

 

[Aidey]

WTF is a biophone?

 

[NomadicMedic]

WTF is a biophone?

It was the Orange Box UHF radio that Johnny and Roy used to contact OLMC at Rampart on the TV show Emergency.

 

[firetender]

It was the Orange Box UHF radio that Johnny and Roy used to contact OLMC at Rampart on the TV show Emergency.

Biophone was the Orange Box's(Motorola APCOR) father. It was actually a radio-transmitter/receiver/telemetry unit that you could have voice communication with a physician WHILE you ran a Three-lead EKG through it.

 

[Rescue51]

Biophone was the Orange Box's(Motorola APCOR) father.

:rofl::rofl:

 

[mycrofft]

Not too shabby.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophone
15 min recharge time, remote/little or vehicle/big antenna use. NOT programmable, you plugged in crystals for each freq.
However, probably short range, initially no relay capability through vehicle, and NiCad batteries have their own set of issues.
.....
Remember, Johnny and Roy had no transport capability. It was them and the doctor, so a phone was very important.

PS: I worked where we had acoustic coupler modems to send out EKG's (warbling analog tone) via standard phone landline to an EKG interp company as late as 1999.

 

[NomadicMedic]

As I understand it, the LA County Telemetry radio system was rather robust. The Biophone was originally built with a 5 watt portable radio as the guts, and then was later upgraded to a 30 watt RF deck. The system was repeater based, so reception was decent in most areas of the county and there was a mag mount antenna that the medic could stick on the outside of the ambulance if he needed.

As a side note, when Motorola started making the 12 watt APCOR (Advanced Portable Coronary Observation Radio), they thought the orange box was a County mandate, so they produced the radio in an orange box. Later, most were in white cases.

The APCOR

The Biophone from Emergency.

The original Biphone that was on Rescue 59.

 

[Martyn]

It was the Orange Box UHF radio that Johnny and Roy used to contact OLMC at Rampart on the TV show Emergency.

Showing your age now...

 

[Rescue51]

The original Biphone that was on Rescue 59.

Rescue 59??? If you're talking about Emergency!, it was Rescue 51

 

[AnthonyM83]

Do paramedics still use biophones, and are they still like the ones on "Emergency!", or are they more techy now??

~Rescue51

That seems to be about the only change since then in Los Angeles. They still call in on every ALS run with a full report and get back basic orders. Daily, you can hear them saying, "Copy that Harbor, O2, IV TKO, and monitoring. We'll re-contact if anything changes."

 

[NomadicMedic]

Rescue 59??? If you're talking about Emergency!, it was Rescue 51

No. In 1969 Squad 59 was the first paramedic unit in LA County.

http://www.emsmuseum.org/virtual-mu...9752-1969-Los-Angeles-Area-Paramedic-Programs

 

[mycrofft]

Is 59 eight better than 51?

Harbor's still open?? Mercy mercy...

 

[Rescue51]

No. In 1969 Squad 59 was the first paramedic unit in LA County.

http://www.emsmuseum.org/virtual-mu...9752-1969-Los-Angeles-Area-Paramedic-Programs

Oh!! Cool!

 

[bstone]

Rampart, this is Squad 51.

 

[Matthew Lamson]

Do paramedics still use biophones, and are they still like the ones on "Emergency!", or are they more techy now??

~Rescue51

My Fire Department still uses biophones

 

[NomadicMedic]

My department uses iPhones.

Although we do have a talk group on the radio that goes directly to the hospital ED which I like to use pretty often. It helps me channel my inner Johnny Gage.