Now that the solar flares have passed and we're all back topside we can continue on our jaunt through the history books looking back at the first 100 years since Paramedics were born of necessity and grew into the most valued public service since the Post Office was reinstated.
Today we look at the early use of the pre-cortex for Paramedics of yesteryear to check their work with Physicians.
Online Medical Control
Before the Cortex people accessed a maze of sites with conflicting information, often having to enter queries using digit tabs called "keyboards" which allowed them to access information. From my research I have discovered that early Paramedics were rarely trusted to make decisions on their own and would access online medical control.
Since the Paramedic's searches were based on their own impressions of what was happening, it was very easy for them to access the information they needed for the proper treatment of their patients. It was not the same as today, where Paramedics are trained to act in all situations, but instead was a way for our lesser educated predecessors to ask for help on difficult cases.
This was also referred to as "WebMD" and was accessible from any screen in any community. Before screens contact was made via telephone line or by radio. I know it seems odd to call a WebMD for Online Medical Control without them being able to see the patient but apparently it was done quite often. Some systems were very strict and even required Online Control for some medications.
You see, before Paramedicine was recognized as a specialization it was often relegated to those who could not afford to attend Medical School but still wanted to make a difference. This WebMD allowed them to be trained quickly and work for far less than their skills were worth to the greater medical community.
After the influenza their value was recognized but up until then Paramedics still accessed the world web when needed, not unlike a wave consult for surgical consults of decades past.
It was a good tool for the time but seems to have held Paramedicine back in some communities for reasons I can't discover.
Next time we'll answer one of the biggest mysteries of early Paramedicine: Was it really done by the Firemen?
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