Explained - Radio report
Radio report: Prior to your arrival, you will need to perform a radio report to the receiving hospital. This report should contain the only following information and be limited to approximately 30-45 seconds.
· Your unit number and level of care (ALS or BLS)
· Your patient’s age and gender
· Chief complaint / mechanism of injury
· Pertinent findings
· Mental status and vital signs
· Treatments performed and patient responses
· Your ETA
Example:
Ambulance 322, your current BLS unit, has responded to a call for a 23 year old female complaining of shortness of breath. Upon your arrival, you find the patient sitting on their front porch in a tripod position in obvious respiratory distress. She speaks in two word sentences and tells you she has asthma and lost her inhaler. As you begin your assessment, you note that her radial pulses are rapid and bounding, her skin is pale, cool, and clammy, her SpO2 reads 89% on room air (ORA), and she has audible wheezing on exhalation. You provide high flow oxygen via a non-rebreather mask and prepare for transport. En route to the hospital, you begin a nebulizer treatment with 2.5mg albuterol and obtain vital signs (139/88, 106 PR, 24 RR, 88% ORA, A&Ox4, GCS 15). When the nebulizer treatment is finished you continue to administer low flow oxygen at 4 LPM via a nasal cannula. Upon reassessment your patient states that her breathing has improved, and you note that her vital sign have changed to 128/78, 110 PR, 18 RR, 98%.
When calling in your radio report, you would state:
“Ambulance 322 with a patient care report for a 23 year old female complaining of difficulty breathing. She was only able to speak 2 words in between each breath and was audibly wheezing on exhalation. She has a history of asthma attacks but has lost her inhaler. We performed a nebulizer treatment with 2.5mg albuterol which she states has helped with her symptoms. Her current vital signs are 128/78, 110 PR, 18 RR, A&Ox4, and 98% on 4 liters. (O2) Our ETA is 15 minutes. Do you have any questions for me?”

















