Advanced communication infrastructure for pre-hospital EMS care.

The traditional communication infrastructure of the pre-hospital Emergency Medical System (EMS) is limited to voice communication using radio or cell phone technologies. With the emergence of 3rd Generation wireless networks (3G) and enhanced mobile devices capable of data communication (e.g.

Design of an eMonitor system to transport electronic patient care report (ePCR) information in unstable MobileIP wireless environment.

The eMonitor is a component of the ePatient system; a prototype system used by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in the field to record and transmits electronic patient care report (ePCR) information interactively. The eMonitor component allows each Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) on an unreliable Cisco MobileIP wireless network to securely send and received XML messages used to update patient information to and from the MDT before, during and after the transport of a patient.

Information needs of pre-hospital care providers - a requirements analysis.

To assess information needs of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and the potential of electronic decision support tools, we surveyed 39 paramedic students and practicing EMS personnel. We found frequent use of paper-based tools, with imperfect accessibility and ease of use. Potential electronic decision support tools were rated as helpful, but some alerts were rated low.

Expert validation of the knowledge base for E-CAD - a pre-hospital dispatch triage decision support system.

The knowledge base (KB) for E-CAD (Enhanced Computer-Aided Dispatch), a triage decision support system for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) of medical resources in trauma cases, is being evaluated. We aim to achieve expert consensus for validation and refinement of the E-CAD KB using the modified Delphi technique. Evidence-based, expert-validated and refined KB will provide improved EMD practice guidelines and may facilitate acceptance of the E-CAD by state-wide professionals.

Application of speech recognition data entry enhancements in an Electronic Patient Care Report (ePCR).

Based on the Alabama Patient Care Report we developed a basic Electronic Patient Care Report (ePCR) to collect data in an EMS environment. The ePCR GUI is now enhanced using speech recognition to provide speech-based command and control mechanisms to input structured data and initiate processes. This voice-enabled ePCR (vePCR) is used to evaluate the feasibility of handling EMS test cases and to get user feedback about the speech recognition functionality and usefulness.

Information infrastructure for emergency medical services.

The pre-hospital emergency medical and public safety information environment is nearing a threshold of significant change. The change is driven in part by several emerging technologies such as secure, high-speed wireless communication in the local and wide area networks (wLAN, 3G), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and powerful handheld computing and communication services, that are of sufficient utility to be more widely adopted. We propose a conceptual model to enable improved clinical decision making in the pre-hospital environment using these change agents.