Emergency Patient Transport Plan (EPTP) & Real-Time Activity Status (RTAS)
In 1999, COTS hospital and EMS partners in Franklin County have collaborated through the Emergency Patient Transport Plan (EPTP) to support a culture of safety and coordinated access to emergency care. The plan continues to evolve to meet regional needs.
Supporting this coordination, the Real-Time Activity Status (RTAS) system allows participating emergency departments (ED) to communicate their current activity and diversion request status to EMS agencies and dispatch centers. EPTP provides the shared transport plan; RTAS supports communication of ED conditions. Today, while only the Franklin County EDs participate in the EPTP, all COTS member EDs update their busyness status in the Real-Time Activity Status (RTAS) web-based system.
Supporting Consistent ED Diversion Decisions
Emergency Department crowding is a hospital-wide and regional challenge - not solely an ED issue. The Emergency Department Diversion Decision Framework and Evidence Summary brings together participating COTS member hospital system's’ approaches and published evidence to explain why diversion should remain a last resort. It outlines capacity indicators, actions to relieve crowding before diversion, leadership coordination, patient exclusions, and reassessment.
This resource supports a shared understanding of when diversion may be appropriate and why consistent decision-making matters for regional coordination. It complements EPTP and RTAS and presents a proposed regional framework; it does not replace individual institutional policies. Click here to access the ED Diversion Decision Framework (check back soon for the Framework to be uploaded)
To read more about the EPTP, visit EMSWORLD, Ohio Diversion Plan Keeps Emergency Patients Moving.
