New Jersey Schematron Updates

UPDATE - Feb 14, 2018

NJ Schematron Update - February 13, 2018

In accordance with New Jersey State Requirements for NEMSIS reporting, validation capture will be reinstated effective 12 noon EST on Thursday Feb 15th

emsCharts, as well as other reporting vendors have worked with the state of NJ to loosen several of the contested data requirements as implemented on Feb 1.  The relaxing of these requirements means that errors that were preventing chart-locking will now be recognized by NJ as warnings.  However, at this time we will also be reinstating the enforcement of validation errors in accordance with New Jersey State Requirements for NEMSIS reporting.  Therefore, you may now once again encounter errors that will need to be addressed before charts can be locked. 

We believe that many of the validity errors will be self-explanatory, however the emsCharts Customer Service team is standing by to offer assistance with this process. 


Why This Is Important

It is imperative that we reinstate the validation errors so that data collection in New Jersey is in compliance with state law.  Agencies and or providers may be subject to fine, suspension, or revocation of their  license/certification if compliance is not met.

Chart errors that do not pass validation must be addressed and re-submitted by your agency by February 28th, 2018.


UPDATE - Feb 5, 2018

Attention NJ emsCharts Users:

Today at around noon ET, we re-enabled the NJ Validation rules to have gone into effect on Feb 1st, per NJ DHSS OEMS requirements.  Customers immediately reported errors that they were unable to resolve, which prohibited the locking of charts.

We have temporarily changed the NJ Schematron Validation Errors to Warnings.  This will allow crews to complete and lock charts without state schematron rules prohibiting them from doing so.  Crew members will still receive the messages as Warning messages.  Please note that the state will require that these chart requirements are satisfied at some point, so you may need to go back and fix them if they are not handled now.

We will research ways to better handle the validation rules, while keeping our customers compliant with the State requirements and not impact billing and other operations.  As this is a temporary situation, we will update everyone with further actions after appropriate research has been completed.

Important Information - February 1, 2018

New Jersey has notified vendors that they are deploying a new schematron effective Feb 1, 2018. Upon deploying the schematron, a number of errors were identified that requires program attention in order for Chart Locking/ Validation to successfully occur.  We have highlighted the common errors to assist the programs in complying with State requirements.

Below is a table of the common errors captured by the users. In some cases, the corrective actions require administrator changes that are highlighted in the spreadsheet.  In most cases, the validity is pointing the crew to specific areas of the chart that needs to be completed.

Key

  • Validity Error—refers to the specific error as generated by the New Jersey Schematron
  • Actor—refers to the service individual required to fulfill the State Requirement.
    • Admin – denotes configuration changes required in the service
    • Crew—denotes missing data readily available to the crew
  • Action/ Path—denotes the specific action required. The actions listed similar to Configuration / Chart denotes that the Admin begin at Configuration then Chart tab, etc.

NJ Schematron Error Actions

Frequency of OccurrenceValidity ErrorActorAction/Path
189Must include Additional Mode Descriptors (use of lights and sirens) *AdminConfiguration/ Chart/Referring / Receiving / Track Ref/Rec Mode Descriptors = 'Yes'
176EMS Response Number cannot be blank *AdminConfiguration/ Chart/ Dispatch ID Use = required
157EMD Card number cannot be blank.  This info can be obtained from your dispatch center.  If unknown, please enter  "0 " *AdminConfiguration / Chart/ General/ EMD / EMD Card Number = 'Yes'
142Cardiac Arrest is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewPage 2 / Cardiac Arrest/ Must answer "Arrest Present During this Call?"
138Barriers to Patient Care is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *Crew Patient page
131Providers Secondary Impressions is a required *CrewSecondary Impression is required. Cannot have 'Not Known' for Primary and Secondary
118Additional Transport Mode Descriptors cannot be be blank (transport use of lights and sirens) *AdminConfiguration/ Chart/ Referring / Receiving/ Track Ref/Rec Mode Descriptors = 'Yes'
115    AdminConfiguration/ Code Table/ Response Codes 
112Mass Casualty Incident is a required field when Unit Arrived on Scene is not blank. *AdminCommand Facility/ Configuration/ Chart/Page 1 Mass Casualty. Set default service configuration/ chart tab/ default Mass Casualty
65Estimated Body Weight in Kilograms is a recommended field when there is patient contact *CrewPatient Page
64Number of Patients at Scene is a required field when Unit Arrived on Scene is not blank. *AdminConfiguration/ Chart/ Page 2/ Patients on Scene = 'Yes'
57Crew Member Response Role is a recommended field. *CrewPage 1/ Crew Roles
50The sequence of time requires that Assessment occur after Arrived at Patient . *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
48Dispatch Center field is Blank.  Please enter your Dispatch center name. *AdminConfiguration/ Chart/ General/ EMD Vendor  can't be blank (enter text)

Initial Patient Acuity is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank.AdminConfiguration/ Chart/ Page 2 /Patient Condition/ Acuity = Yes
48Primary Symptom is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
47Providers Primary Impression is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
46Current Medication Dosage Unit is a necessary field when Current Medication Dose is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
35Medical/Surgical History is a recommended field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
34Unit Cancelled Cannot be Blank if Disposition is blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
31Condition of Patient at Destination is a required field when is transported *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
27Alcohol/Drug Use Indicators is a required field when there is patient contact. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
26Crew Member Level is a recommended field. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
23Incident Location Type is a required field when Unit Arrived on Scene is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
16Medication Allergies is a recommended field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
16Cause of Injury is required when Possible Injury is YES. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
12Patient Care Report Narrative is a recommended field. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
11The sequence of time requires that Vital Signs Recorded occur after Arrived at Patient . *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
8Possible Injury is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
4Destination/Transferred To, Code is a recommended field when Patient is transported *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
4Name of Crew member completing this report must be entered. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
3Reason for Choosing Destination is a required field when Patient Arrived at Destination is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
3Type of Destination is a required field when Patient is transported *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
3Transport Mode from Scene is a required field when Patient Arrived at Destination is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Based on Incident/Patient Disposition, the following should be recorded:      Transport Mode from Scene *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Incident Number is a required field. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Patient Arrived at Destination Time is a required field when Destination Name is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Based on Incident/Patient Disposition, the following should be recorded:      Type of Destination *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Destination ZIP Code is a required field when Patient Arrived at Destination is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Based on Incident/Patient Disposition, the following should be recorded:      Reason for Choosing Destination *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
2Unit En Route Time is a required field when Unit Arrived on Scene is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Cardiac Arrest Etiology is a required field when Cardiac Arrest. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1EMS Call Completed appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1The sequence of time requires that Medication Administered occur after Arrived at Patient . *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Gender is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Submitted value for Destination Code (eDisposition.02) does not exist in the system. !CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Unit Notified by Dispatch appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Unit En Route appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Based on Incident/Patient Disposition, the following should be recorded:      Transport Mode from Scene, Reason for Choosing Destination, Type of Destination *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1First Name is a recommended field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Arrived at Patient appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Patient Arrived at Destination appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Age is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1This rule simply indicates that complaints need to be filled out inside the grid *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Unit Back in Service appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Age Units is a required field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Last Name is a recommended field when Arrived at Patient is not blank. *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Unit Arrived on Scene appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State
1Dispatch Notified appears to be out of sequence with other recorded date/time value(s). *CrewCrew to complete required data element as requested by State