Under Education Article, ยง13-504, Annotated Code of Maryland, MIEMSS is the State administrative agency responsible for the coordination of all emergency medical services.
MIEMSS shall:
With the approval of the EMS Board, designate and verify hospitals to be trauma or specialty referral centers;
Establish standards for trauma and specialty care, triage, and transfer protocols for injured patients;
Establish and manage the State trauma registry;
Facilitate the establishment of Statewide, inclusive, trauma and specialty care systems by encouraging all hospitals to participate in:
The Statewide data collection process, and
Prevention programs;
Develop a quality management and improvement program to:
Monitor compliance with this subtitle by hospitals in the Statewide trauma and specialty care systems, and
Identify areas for enhancement;
With the consultation and advice of appropriate persons, develop and periodically review:
Prehospital trauma and specialty referral center triage criteria guidelines,
Interfacility transfer criteria for adult and pediatric patients,
Trauma and specialty referral center standards, and
Trauma registry and specialty referral center data;
Annually evaluate the effectiveness of the Statewide trauma and specialty care systems and its component subsystems by using trauma registry and other appropriate data to identify and analyze system and patient care trends and outcomes;
Periodically conduct special studies of the Statewide trauma and specialty care systems to evaluate:
System access,
Capacity,
Quality,
Patient care outcomes, and
The financial condition of the system components;
Consult with appropriate persons in determining the need for trauma or specialty care services;
Facilitate and, where necessary, develop and maintain, public information, education, and prevention programs as an integral component of the trauma and specialty care systems;
As necessary, recommend to the EMS Board additional regulations to ensure the quality of the Statewide trauma and specialty care systems;
Provide technical assistance and support to hospitals and providers as necessary to implement the components of the EMS Plan; and
As necessary, verify compliance with trauma and specialty care standards by:
Reviewing, inspecting, evaluating, and auditing trauma and specialty care patient records, trauma and specialty care quality improvement committee minutes, and any other documents relevant to trauma and specialty care in any trauma or specialty referral center, and
Inspecting a trauma or specialty center's physical plant.
With the approval of the EMS Board, MIEMSS may enter into agreements with out-of-State trauma and specialty center hospitals where necessary to ensure access of patients to appropriate levels of trauma and specialty care. Such agreements are tantamount to designation by MIEMSS and approval by the EMS Board.