The Office of The Medical Director, or OMD, is committed to a consistent and superior system of healthcare services for our community and to providing support for our employees through leadership and professional relationships.

OMD aims to achieve this goal by evidenced-based and research-supported protocol development, oversight of the electronic Patient Care Record (PCR), quality improvement process, professional development, continuing education, provider credentialing, community education, and integration of the care we provide within the healthcare community.

The Office of The Medical Director team employs the following tools to improve patient outcomes and integrate as a partner into the healthcare system:

• Review and analysis of all reports related to strokes, cardiac events, and trauma
• Regular attendance at local emergency department meetings to foster clear lines of communication and quality improvement
• Regular case reviews with emergency department personnel and the paramedics on those cases
• Procedural review, changes and/or training as called for by the case reviews
• Studies on the implementation and effectiveness of best practices
• Published research papers

A critical role of the department is ensuring Harris County ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare providers are trained and best positioned to utilize their knowledge, abilities, and talents in the field.  Harris County ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare creates an environment where our field staff continuously develop their skills as a provider while growing within the agency and are trusted by our community.  The following are the different levels of credentialing utilized by Harris County ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare:

• Attendant: This is an emergency medical provider who has passed credentialing exams and holds a TDSHS EMT-Basic, Advanced EMT or EMT-Paramedic certification or license.
• In Charge: This is a paramedic who has shown clinical proficiency through multiple written and scenario evaluations. They have clinical patient care autonomy and may consult with higher-authorized provider prior to performing certain skills.
• Supervisor: The highest level of authorization for Harris County ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare is our Field Supervisor. This employee has shown excellent operational and clinical proficiency. They are authorized to provide medical direction through consults to paramedics at lower levels of authorization.

In order to maintain the current level of authorization, providers must successfully pass a re-credentialing exam, issued by OMD every other year.