EMS: Information for Medical Directors

The Wisconsin EMS (Emergency Medical Services) medical director is a doctor who gives medical oversight for EMS across the state. They often get input from the EMS Physician Advisory Committee on medical issues. They also can make suggestions separate from other advisory groups.

Our current EMS medical director is Riccardo Colella, DO, MPH, FACEP. Contact him at Mario.Colella@dhs.wisconsin.gov.

What an EMS medical director does

The EMS medical director:

• Provides quality-of-care direction for the EMS system.
• Develops and puts into action a focused quality improvement program. It helps with continued system and patient care improvement. The medical director gets input from the Physician Advisory Committee. They also help create a medical director handbook.
• Writes and/or reviews standard treatment, triage, and operating protocols.
• Offers guidance to help set up more structured and standardized procedures for giving pre-hospital care. They also guide hospital designation and/or categorization.
• Joins committees through the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Health Care, EMS section, and/or EMS Advisory Board.
• Helps develop EMS response for disaster preparedness.
• Meets with the EMS Physician Advisory Committee.
• Connects the state EMS office and the medical community.
• Helps EMS set up and revise rules and regulations.
• Serves as the primary medical advisor for the EMS office on all medical matters.

Medical director resources

These resources help medical directors perform the duties of their role. Expand a topic and select a link to learn more.