Premier Health is partnering with EMS agencies across Southwest Ohio to relay patient information more rapidly between hospitals and first responders, enhancing emergency care for patients and ensuring quicker handoffs for emergency crews and caregivers at the hospital.
Premier Health is the first health system in the region to roll out the new interface, which allows first responders to directly enter medical information collected out in the field or during transport into a patient’s electronic medical record.
“The information first responders gather in the field, and their associated treatment, is a critical piece of information for physicians in the emergency department,” said Jill Aston, MD, emergency medicine physician and director of Atrium Medical Center’s Level III Emergency Trauma Center.
“Having access to that information in near real time will help hospital clinicians improve bedside decision-making and will take our quality care to an even higher level for our patients,” said Aston, who also serves as medical director for the Middletown and Monroe fire and EMS departments.
Dozens of agencies across Premier Health’s nine-county service area will take part in a 6-month pilot program. The pilot provides an opportunity for both training of first responders and refinements to the interface between the hospital’s electronic medical records system, and the agency’s documentation system. The first group of EMS agencies in Middletown, Brookville, Monroe, New Jasper, and Tipp City began the week of January 28, with early signs of success. Additional groups will begin interfacing their records as soon as technical requirements are finalized. The interface is available at all Premier Health emergency departments.
In addition to hospital caregivers receiving pre-hospital information, first responders will also receive information regarding the health of the patients whom they transported. Even more importantly, sharing data will help fire departments and EMS agencies provide better response times, improve patient safety and strengthen quality of care in the field. First responders often treat and transport patients without ever knowing the outcome of their efforts. The ability for emergency medical technicians and paramedics to receive feedback on the hospital outcome for their patients will enhance patient care in the field.
Premier Health is partnering with ESO Solutions, a health care data company based in Austin, Texas, to help integrate EMS charts into EPIC, which is Premier Health’s electronic medical records system.
