Since 2002, the state Department of Public Health has spent $5.3 million in funding assigned by the legislature to evaluate the performance of ambulance providers in the state.
But according to an audit released Thursday, DPH – which assigns exclusive territories to emergency medical services companies — hasn’t had much to show for it.
The legislature ordered DPH to begin submitting annual reports on EMS providers in 2002. But DPH did not submit a comprehensive report to lawmakers until this past September.
DPH spent an unspecified amount of the $5.3 million to pay salary and fringe benefits for an employee not conducting EMS analysis, the audit report said.
DPH’s completion of its first full report last year followed submissions of basic and raw data in prior years, which contained provider response times by community. But auditors said DPH did not compare them to established outcome measures.
Auditors said the agency should improve its collection of quality data from providers and use the data to evaluate its assigned provider service areas.
“Issues with the patient care data collection system continue to negatively impact the capabilities of the state to assess the cost, quality and access to emergency medical care statewide,” the auditors wrote.
For its part, DPH said in the audit — which covered fiscal years 2012 and 2013 —that it has improved its data collection of late, which it said had been hampered in the past by “unforeseen complex technology problems that could not be easily rectified.”
DPH also said it hired a data manager last March.
“Improving the collection, reliability, and usefulness of the data remains an important goal, and with staffing now in place, DPH should be able to attain that goal,” the agency wrote.
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