Hospitals, EMS using app to improve communications

Exchanging info on patient condition, vital signs can speed care, says James Woodson.


An updated app is helping aid communication between emergency medical service personnel and hospitals to help in the handoff and treatment of patients being brought in for emergency services.

Pulsara has expanded on an existing app, including the ability for EMS providers to alert emergency rooms from the field for any patient type.

For example, when medics transport a patient, they can transmit information about vital signs and chief complaints; upload a secure image of the ECG or a photo of the patient’s injury; and automatically notify the hospital of the ambulance’s location and estimated time of arrival to the hospital, based on GPS technology.

The emergency department team receives the alert, and can view the information or even send instant messages back to the EMS team via Pulsara’s HIPAA-compliant secure chat feature.

Also See: California funds building of HIE capable of exchanging data during a disaster

The Prehospital Package expands on Pulsara’s previous STEMI and stroke patient features by including the ability for EMS providers to alert emergency rooms from the field for any patient type.

Pulsara said it is offering the package at no cost to EMS agencies and at no cost to hospitals that sign up before April 2017. Hospitals also can purchase additional capabilities if they want to use additional capabilities, such as enabling specialty care teams to coordinate care to stroke and STEMI patients.

“Medicine has a communication problem, and it is critical to address every aspect of that problem, through every stage of the care process said James Woodson, MD, founder and CEO of Pulsara. “With Pulsara, communities are truly establishing regional systems of care, and that means better performance and time saved for our most critical patients.”

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