Emergency Medical Services
In the setting of out-of-hospital acute medical care, ambulance services and other emergency medical services providers utilize heart monitors to assess the patient's cardiac rhythm. Providers licensed or certified at the Intermediate or Paramedic level are qualified to interpret EKGs. The finding of a cardiac dysrhythmia (or for that matter, a normal sinus rhythm) may give additional information about the patients condition or may be a sufficient diagnosis on its own to guide treatment. Treatment for specific cardiac rhythms is guided by ACLS. Basic EMTs are allowed to apply the electrodes and physically operate the monitor but not interpret the rhythm.
Read more about this topic: Cardiac Monitoring
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