NHTSA Webinar Focuses on Emerging Technologies

With the ever-changing landscape of technology, it’s important for the EMS profession to keep up with new developments and find ways to implement them.

That was the message from the NHTSA’s EMS Focus webinar “Emerging Technologies—Strengthening the Cotinuum of Care” that debuted in October.

The first speaker, Benjamin Schooley of the University of South Carolina, made a point to cover the progress the EMS industry has already made.

The 1996 EMS Agenda for the Future outlined some technological advances that would be ideal to make, and the EMS industry has made use of these, including adopting uniform data elements and definitions, incorporating that data into information systems and developing mechanisms for generating and transmitting reliable and accurate data.

However, there is always room for improvement, Schooley says. For example, information systems describing entire EMS events and integration that provides more real-time decision making across the entire continuum of care.

Schooley is the author of the whitepaper “Emerging Digital Technologies in EMS and 911—Implications for the EMS Continuum of Care,” which provides a broad national review of technological developments and a vision for the future, including strategies and opportunities for development.

Schooley says that technology supports and enhances the actions the EMS industry carries out, and shouldn’t be a goal in and of itself. The goal should be to look at and improve technological maturity across an entire spectrum that leads to optimal performance.

In order to help facilitate this optimal performance, Schooley says, there needs to be a good technological foundation in place. A lot of this foundation is already there or is in progress.

Schooley lists some of the benefits of implementing new technologies as faster and more accurate data collection, improved patient care processes, better operational measures including response times, improved safety outcomes and lower costs.

However, implementing technology can also present some challenges, such as finding the biggest benefit with the least time-cost impact, Schooley says. To combat this, Schooley suggests preparing with what you already have. This means extending the capabilities of the technology you already have and making sure to educate and train on the impacts of technology.

Schooley also suggests staying involved to be aware of new technologies that are coming.

James P. Marcin of UC Davis Children’s Hospital discusses how he is putting technology into practice.

His pediatric tele-emergency program began in 2002. It now has 21 active sites, and is integrated into their existing process flows, making it easy for the different locations to use.

They work with local EMS agencies to integrate telemedicine into existing consultation and have integrated telehealth into pediatric receiving centers across the state.

Marcin reports that the results have been largely positive. Parents report higher satisfaction levels than when treated over the phone, and there are less medication errors and a higher reported quality of care than when being treated over the phone or not using telemedicine at all.

Marcin also says it lowered the cost of care for children per emergency department per year.

For more information or to view this webinar or other NHTSA webinars, visit www.ems.gov.