Ondansetron (Zofran) is the preferred medication over dimenHYDRINATE (Gravol) to treat nausea / vomiting in patients 65 and older. Paramedics can consult (patch) a Base Hospital Physician (BHP) if they believe an antiemetic is indicated for patients 65 and older and ondansetron is not available.

Paramedics should read Medical Advisory DimenHYDRINATE (Gravol) for Patients 65 and Older. If you have any questions, please contact quality@RPPEO.ca.

A new RPPEO Medical Advisory is in effect.

Medical Advisory on Discontinuation of Cardiac Monitoring in the ED 2023-01 provides clinical practice guidance for RPPEO-certified paramedics.

In accordance with our preoccupation for patient safety, the Medical Advisory on Discontinuation of Cardiac Monitoring in the ED 2023-01 presents guidance prioritizing patient safety in the face of scarce resources.

Following the identification of patient safety incidents regarding use of IV EPINEPHrine for anaphylaxis across the region, Dr. Richard Dionne, Regional Medical Director, has issued an important Medical Advisory for paramedics. This Medical Advisory identifies the patient safety risks associated with using the IV route in administration of EPINEPHrine for anyone who is profusing.

Paramedics should read Medical Advisory 2022-02. If you have any questions, please contact quality@RPPEO.ca.

We are happy to reintroduce to you an online tool, called MedicASK, where you can submit clinical questions. All questions will be reviewed and answered by one of your Medical Directors. Our goal is to answer your question directly within two weeks if you choose to leave your name and email address to follow up. Selected Q&As will be posted on this website for all to view. They will be categorized by topic as well as a tool bar to search by key words. Currently you will find posted our most recent Q&As.

To access MedicASK simply click on the icon below.  No login is required.

The Ministry of Health's Emergency Health Regulatory and Accountability Branch has published a partial revision to the Provincial Equipment Standards for Ontario Ambulances version 3.6. The revised Equipment Standards come into force on Monday, December 20, 2021.

The Ministry has also provided a Summary of Changes to version 3.6 of the Equipment Standards.

For a complete list of all the up-to-date standards for Ontario paramedicine, please visit the Paramedic Practice Documents page on the Ministry of Health website.

If you have any questions about this update, contact ParamedicStandards@Ontario.ca.

MyGriefToolbox.ca helps paramedics respond to palliative care calls and expands their capacity to provide quality care.

The first seven modules provide paramedics with:

• Tactics to support patients and families in acute grief before and after a death.
• Strategies to intervene sensitively.
• Guidance to constructively manage work-related grief and the other stresses of working with people at end of life.
• There is also a module for your friends and family to help them understand and respond to the stresses of your career.
• Your words and actions matter. They significantly impact your patients and their families and have the potential to make a positive (or negative) impact for years to come.

It is Paramedic Services Week and the RPPEO would like to acknowledge and honor the hard work and dedication of the paramedics of Eastern Ontario. Over the past year more has been asked of paramedics than ever before, and you have answered the call. Every day you respond to calls for help from the ill and injured. Each call for service is made by someone who sees or feels a problem they believe they cannot manage on their own, and there is a noble place in history for those who come to help.

What do you think of our new site design?

We've just launched the new RPPEO site design!

It was time to move the RPPEO website design to a new platform that supports the latest in security and site features.

With this move, we've refreshed the content and organization based on paramedics' feedback. The RPPEO website is a vital link between the base hospital and paramedics for medical direction, clinical advice, quality & patient safety, certification and continuing education.

Our top priority with this new design is that paramedics can easily find the practice information that they need. Following that, we also want paramedics to feel that they're getting updates on relevant base hospital news and the trends in clinical quality, patient safety, continuing education and paramedic certification that affect them and their practice of paramedicine.

In launching the new site design, we've made two big changes:

RPPEO has issued a new Medical Advisory (MA-2025-02) providing clinical guidance on STEMI Hospital Bypass by Primary Care Paramedics (PCPs) with Autonomous IV (AIV) certification. The Medical Advisory comes into effect on July 22, 2025. 

This advisory recognizes that PCPs with AIV certification are equipped to effectively manage hypotension, enabling them to safely apply STEMI bypass criteria under circumstances previously limited to Advanced Care Paramedics. Specifically, it outlines when bypass to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) is appropriate for stable STEMI patients treated by PCP-AIVs.

This clarification does not change existing BLS PCS guidance for standard PCPs, for whom hypotension remains a contraindication to STEMI bypass.

The Regional Paramedic Program for Eastern Ontario (RPPEO) is pleased to announce a new, more secure and efficient correspondence process for discussions of quality & safety and patient outcomes.

Beginning in November, 2023, paramedics will receive an automated email with a unique, encrypted link to correspondence about quality & safety reviews or new information about patient outcomes.

Using the link in the email, paramedics will login using your base hospital credentials. Once logged in, you will find the latest correspondence from the base hospital for your review and action.

Watch your email for your first correspondence using the new methods for correspondence!