Rolling out a protocol reference across your EMS department: a practical checklist

The simplest way to roll out a protocol reference across an EMS department is to run a small pilot first, create the Department plan, invite the crew, and hold one training session where everyone looks up the same five protocols and checks the source label. Write down the ground rules before the first login, and review how it went after 30 days. Protocol Guide's Department plan is self-serve, so you can set it up without a sales call.

This checklist is written for training officers, shift supervisors, and agency administrators. It covers what to decide before you buy, how setup works, what to put in your ground rules, and how to keep the reference current once people are using it.

Before you buy

Decide what the tool is for. Protocol Guide is an educational study and reference tool. It fits new-hire onboarding, refresher training, certification prep, and self-study between calls. It is not medical direction and not clinical decision support, and it does not replace your protocol book. If you say that plainly at the start, nobody expects it to do something else.

Check your coverage. Open the public page for your state and county and see which source set applies to you: a local book, your state's set, or the national model. If your own agency's book is not there, email us with the agency name and a link to the published protocols before you commit seats. The look-up guide shows what the labels mean.

Try the free plan. Free includes unlimited protocol search for one county, so your pilot group can use it on day one at no cost. You will learn quickly whether the library covers the protocols your crews ask about.

Name an owner. One person should own the rollout and the update routine. In most agencies that is the training officer or a QA coordinator.

Set up the Department plan

1. Create the department. An administrator starts at /agency/create and follows the steps. The plan is self-serve.
2. Choose seats. The Department plan is billed per seat, with a 5-seat minimum. Each person who uses it needs a seat. Current prices are on the pricing page. If you need more than 100 seats, email support@protocol-guide.com for custom pricing.
3. Invite the crew. The admin console lets you invite team members. Start with your pilot group rather than the whole department.
4. Confirm access. Ask two people to sign in and run a search in your county. Fix any problems before the training session.

Team access and an admin console are part of the Department plan, and it includes everything in Pro.

Write the ground rules

Put these in an email or a one-page handout before anyone logs in.

• Study and reference only. The reference is for learning and looking things up between calls. On a call, your agency's current protocols and online medical direction decide what happens.
• Check the source label. Every result names its protocol book. Read the label before the text.
• Open the source document. Confirm the section and the edition against the original.
• No patient information. Do not type names, dates of birth, incident numbers, or other identifying details into a search.
• Report gaps. If a result is missing, wrong, or from the wrong book, send it to support@protocol-guide.com with the agency name and the protocol.

Run the first training session

Thirty to forty-five minutes is enough.

1. Pick five protocols your crews work with often. Choose a mix: a medical complaint, a trauma topic, a pediatric topic, a procedure, and a medication.
2. Have everyone search the same five. Use plain words, then abbreviations such as "epi" or "NTG," which are expanded before the search runs.
3. Read the label out loud. Ask each person whether the result came from the county book, the state set, or the national model.
4. Open the source document. Find the revision date and compare it with the edition your agency currently uses.
5. Talk about disagreements. If anything in a result differs from what your agency teaches, discuss it as a group and record it. Your agency's book wins.

The session builds one habit: label, source, edition, in that order. The update checklist describes the same habit for the long term.

Review at 30 days

After a month, spend twenty minutes with your pilot group.

• Who is using it, and how often? Ask them directly.
• Which searches failed or surprised them?
• Were there protocols the library did not have? Send those to us.
• Do the ground rules need a change?
• Should the rest of the department get seats?

If the answer to the last question is yes, add seats and repeat the first training session with each new group. Keep the same five protocols so the results are comparable.

Keep it current

A reference is only as useful as its edition. Assign the update routine to your owner. They watch for protocol notices from the agency, check new editions against the source documents behind results, and report differences. The routine takes a few minutes a month, and it keeps everyone teaching from the same book.

Frequently asked questions

How many seats does my department need?

Each person who uses Protocol Guide needs a seat, and the Department plan has a 5-seat minimum. Many agencies start with their training staff and a pilot crew and add seats later.

Can we try Protocol Guide before buying seats?

Yes. The free plan includes unlimited protocol search for one county, with no card required.

Do we need a sales call to set up the Department plan?

No. The plan is self-serve through the agency setup page. For more than 100 seats, email support@protocol-guide.com.

Is Protocol Guide approved by my agency or medical director?

No. Protocol Guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by any EMS agency or NASEMSO. Talk to your medical director about how a study and reference tool fits into your training program.

Should crews use it on calls?

No. Protocol Guide is an educational study and reference tool, not medical direction and not clinical decision support. Your agency's current protocols and your online medical direction govern patient care.