EMD Prioritization and Dispatch 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), which determinant level indicates the highest priority requiring an immediate life-threatening response?
- Alpha
- Bravo
- Charlie
- Delta (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Delta
Delta is the highest MPDS priority level, indicating a life-threatening situation requiring the fastest possible response.
Question 2: A caller reports a 45-year-old male who is unresponsive and not breathing. Which MPDS determinant suffix would most likely apply?
- A – Alpha
- B – Bravo
- C – Charlie
- D – Delta (Correct answer)
Correct answer: D – Delta
Cardiac and respiratory arrest cases default to a Delta-level determinant because they represent immediately life-threatening emergencies.
Question 3: What does the Omega determinant level signify in MPDS?
- Unknown priority awaiting information
- Non-emergency referral or self-care (Correct answer)
- Delayed transport acceptable
- Standby for potential upgrade
Correct answer: Non-emergency referral or self-care
Omega indicates a non-emergency situation where the caller can be referred to self-care or a non-emergency resource without an ambulance response.
Question 4: When a caller cannot confirm whether the patient is conscious and breathing, the dispatcher should initially assign which response level?
- Alpha until confirmed otherwise
- The lowest applicable level
- The highest possible level until information is confirmed (Correct answer)
- Hold until a second caller confirms
Correct answer: The highest possible level until information is confirmed
EMD protocol requires dispatching at the highest defensible priority when life-threatening status cannot be ruled out, then downgrading if warranted.
Question 5: A Bravo-level MPDS determinant typically requires which type of response?
- No lights or siren
- Lights and siren only at intersections
- Potentially serious but non-life-threatening response (Correct answer)
- Immediate all-available-units response
Correct answer: Potentially serious but non-life-threatening response
Bravo-level calls are serious but not immediately life-threatening, so a prompt but not necessarily code-3 response is appropriate per local protocol.
Question 6: Which factor most directly determines the dispatch priority level assigned in MPDS?
- The caller's emotional state
- The determinant code derived from protocol questioning (Correct answer)
- The distance from the closest unit
- The time of day the call is received
Correct answer: The determinant code derived from protocol questioning
The MPDS determinant code, reached through systematic protocol-driven questioning, is the primary driver of the assigned priority level.
Question 7: In EMD, 'pre-arrival instructions' are provided primarily to:
- Keep the caller occupied until help arrives
- Allow the dispatcher to gather more demographic data
- Improve patient outcomes by initiating care before EMS arrives (Correct answer)
- Confirm the caller's identity for billing purposes
Correct answer: Improve patient outcomes by initiating care before EMS arrives
Pre-arrival instructions empower bystanders to begin life-saving interventions such as CPR or hemorrhage control before the ambulance arrives.
EMD Prioritization and Dispatch 2
In the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), which determinant level indicates the highest priority requiring an immediate life-threatening response?