A mobile application for STEMI care optimization: Pilot implementation project report.

Background: Clinical outcomes of patients presenting with STEMI are significantly improved by reducing time from vessel occlusion to coronary blood flow restoration. In an effort to improve outcomes, we developed a secure mobile application, STEMIcathAID, and designed a pilot project implementing the app into the workflow for STEMI patients transfer. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of the app on key metrics for STEMI transfer before (historic) and after app launch.

Deploying a novel custom mobile application for STEMI activation and transfer in a large healthcare system to improve cross-team workflow. STEMIcathAID implementation project.

Background: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a high-risk patient medical emergency. We developed a secure mobile application, STEMIcathAID, to optimize care for STEMI patients by providing a digital platform for communication between the STEMI care team members, EKG transmission, cardiac catherization laboratory (cath lab) activation and ambulance tracking. The aim of this report is to describe the implementation of the app into the current STEMI workflow in preparation for a pilot project employing the app for inter-hospital STEMI transfer.

Retrospective Cohort Study of Rates of Return Emergency Department Visits Among Patients Transported Home by Ambulance.

Background: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is an important resource that interacts with our most vulnerable patients during transport home after hospital discharge. EMS providers may be appropriately situated to support the transition of care to the home environment.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether patients transported home by ambulance experience higher rates of return emergency department (ED) visits and readmission compared with similar patients transported home by other means.

Video-Based Learning vs Traditional Lecture for Instructing Emergency Medicine Residents in Disaster Medicine Principles of Mass Triage, Decontamination, and Personal Protective Equipment.

Unlabelled: Introduction Great demands have been placed on disaster medicine educators. There is a need to develop innovative methods to educate Emergency Physicians in the ever-expanding body of disaster medicine knowledge. The authors sought to demonstrate that video-based learning (VBL) could be a promising alternative to traditional learning methods for teaching disaster medicine core competencies.

Patient Perspectives on EMS Alternate Destination Models.

Introduction: Studies have shown that a large number of ambulance transports to emergency departments (ED) could have been safely treated in an alternative environment, prompting interest in the development of more patient-centered models for prehospital care. We examined patient attitudes, perspectives, and agreement/comfort with alternate destinations and other proposed innovations in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) care delivery and determined whether demographic, socioeconomic, acuity, and EMS utilization history factors impact levels of agreement.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on a convenience sample of patients and caregivers presenting to an urban academic ED between July 2012 and May 2013.

Analysis of twitter users' sharing of official new york storm response messages.

Background: Twitter is a social network where users read, send, and share snippets of text ("tweets"). Tweets can be disseminated through multiple means; on desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices, over ethernet, Wi-Fi or cellular networks. This redundancy positions Twitter as a useful tool for disseminating information to the public during emergencies or disasters.

Supplemental oxygen delivery to suspected stroke patients in pre hospital and emergency department settings.

Background: Recent data suggests that high-flow oxygen started promptly after stroke symptom onset salvages ischemic brain tissue. We investigated the consistency of oxygen delivery to suspected stroke patients in the pre-hospital (PH) and Emergency Department (ED) settings, and associated adverse events (AEs).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed pre-hospital call reports of suspected stroke patients transported by our institution's paramedics.

An academic medical center's response to widespread computer failure.

As hospitals incorporate information technology (IT), their operations become increasingly vulnerable to technological breakdowns and attacks. Proper emergency management and business continuity planning require an approach to identify, mitigate, and work through IT downtime. Hospitals can prepare for these disasters by reviewing case studies.

Prehospital ultrasound by paramedics: results of field trial.

Objectives: The objective was to determine if 9-1-1 paramedics trained in ultrasound (US) could adequately perform and interpret the Focused Assessment Sonography in Trauma (FAST) and the abdominal aortic (AA) exams in the prehospital care environment.

Methods: Paramedics at two emergency medical services (EMS) agencies received a 6-hour training program in US with ongoing refresher education. Paramedics collected US in the field using a prospective convenience methodology.

Health information exchange, biosurveillance efforts, and emergency department crowding during the spring 2009 H1N1 outbreak in New York City.

Novel H1N1 influenza spread rapidly around the world in spring 2009. Few places were as widely affected as the New York metropolitan area. Emergency departments (EDs) in the region experienced daily visit increases in 2 distinct temporal peaks, with means of 36.

Use of ultrasound by emergency medical services: a review.

Prehospital ultrasound has been deployed in certain areas of the USA and Europe. Physicians, emergency medical technicians, and flight nurses have utilized a variety of medical and trauma ultrasound assessments to impact patient care in the field. The goal of this review is to summarize the literature on emergency medical services (EMS) use of ultrasound to more clearly define the potential utility of this technology for prehospital providers.

New approaches to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOH-CA) is a leading cause of mortality and the focus of significant research. Recent studies provide new evidence that may change our management of OOH-CA and improve outcomes. The findings of two recently published studies of OOH-CA are reviewed in this article.