There is a way to find out whether REMS billed for BLS or ALS because the amounts charged would be much higher for ALS billing. By law all ambulance reports have to be kept by the ambulance service as to what care was provided to every patient treated at every emergency. Even the volunteer ambulance service was required to keep those records. 800.15 Required Conduct
Every person certified at any level pursuant to these regulations shall:
(a) at all times maintain the confidentiality of information about the names, treatment, and conditions of patients treated except:
(1) a prehospital care report shall be completed for each patient treated when acting as part of an organized prehospital emergency medical service, and a copy shall be provided to the hospital receiving the patient and to the authorized agent of the department for use in the State's quality assurance program;
(2) to the extent necessary and authorized by the patient or his or her representative in order to collect insurance payments due;
(3) to the extent otherwise authorized by law;
(b) when acting as a certified first responder, an emergency medical technician, or advanced emergency medical technician, treat patients in accordance with applicable State-approved protocols, unless authorized to do otherwise for an individual patient by a medical control physician; and
(c) comply with the terms of non-hospital order not to resuscitate when provided with such order issued on the standard form prescribed by the Department of Health, or when a DNR bracelet, developed by the Department of Health to identify individuals for whom a non-hospital order not to resuscitate has been issued, is identified on the patient's body.
(1) Emergency medical services personnel may disregard the order not to resuscitate if: (i) they believe in good faith that consent to the order has been revoked, or that the order has been cancelled, or (ii) family members or others on the scene, excluding such personnel, object to the order and physical confrontation appears likely.
(2) Hospital emergency service physicians may direct that the order be disregarded if other significant and exceptional medical circumstances warrant disregarding the order.
(3) No person shall be subjected to criminal prosecution or civil liability, or be deemed to have engaged in unprofessional conduct, for honoring reasonably and in good faith pursuant to this subdivision a non-hospital order not to resuscitate, for disregarding such order pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of this subdivision or for other actions taken reasonably and in good faith pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) not use an automated external defibrillator unless:
(1) he or she is acting as a certified first responder, emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician; and
(2) under medical control; and
(3) when authorized by and serving with an agency providing emergency medical services which has been approved by the regional emergency medical advisory committee to provide AED level care within the EMS system; and
(4) after completing AED training which meets or exceeds the state minimum AED curriculum.
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/part800.htm
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