Scenario: You are on the EMS crew of a box alarm. You go to the fire and set up shop but no patients ever need to come your way. Should you list BLS care (and/or ALS care) since those were the capabilities of the personnel on board?

The answer is no. As the field name implies, we’re talking about what level actions were taken. If you never saw a patient, you’re not going to list that you performed BLS care (and/or ALS care if a medic unit was involved).

So, what to use? Not that I’m a big fan of the Other (Misc) option, but it’s still an option. If you’re ever going to use something that ends in Other, please make sure you have carefully looked to see that no other options apply (such as Standby). We need to report good data, after all.