Case Entry and Call Processing
The anchor of every call
Case Entry is the first scripted phase of the call and the point at which everything downstream is fixed. Before a protocol number is chosen, the EMD establishes the exact location of the patient, a callback number, and a brief picture of what happened in the caller's own words. The standardized opening question - "Tell me exactly what happened?" - is deliberately open-ended; it lets the caller's own description drive protocol selection instead of the EMD's assumption. From that description the EMD verifies the two findings that override everything else: consciousness ("Is s/he awake?") and breathing ("Is s/he breathing?"). Age follows, because age changes which protocol and which determinant applies.
Mapping words to a protocol
The Chief Complaint Evaluation Tool translates the caller's words into a protocol number. Traps appear here constantly. Candidates select a protocol from a diagnosis the caller volunteers ("he's having a seizure") instead of the observable complaint ("he's shaking all over"). They skip the consciousness and breathing checks because the patient "sounds fine." They accept a vague location ("the blue house on Main") instead of a verified address. And they freeze when the caller cannot say what is wrong - an unknown problem still has a protocol and still gets key questions.
Controlling the call
Call processing is direction, not conversation. Saying "I'm going to ask you some questions" and interrupting a long narrative with the next scripted question is correct practice; allowing a ten-minute medical history before the address is confirmed is not. Read the address and number back to the caller and get confirmation.
Rule of thumb: location and callback first, complaint second, consciousness and breathing third, age fourth - and never leave Case Entry without a protocol number.