Improvement in Trauma Notification and Care Transfer

Grant Application

Frank Guyette, MD, and Patrick Lamber, NREMT-P, FPC, BS, flight paramedic, STAT MedEvac/Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania, in partnership with UPMC Presbyterian

 

Proposed Innovation

The transfer of care of critically ill trauma patients is often chaotic, confusing, and potentially dangerous when passing along information from the EMS crew to the Emergency Department trauma team. The current pager technology only allows for two lines of abbreviated information, which means critical information is often omitted due to lack of space. On arrival, information is shouted out between the EMS crew and trauma team even while the patient is being assessed and life-sustaining treatment administered.

Through this project, technology will be used to develop an electronic notification system with a website server to transfer detailed information from incoming EMS units onto TV monitors in the hospital trauma bays.

 

Improvements in Action

With funding from the Beckwith Institute, the project will improve the process and flow of information leading up to and during the transfer of care of critical trauma patients. The website and server will be designed to include transmission of text information as well as a voice report delivered to specific trauma team members. In addition, the report from incoming EMS will be standardized.

 

Results – In Progress 

By providing more up-to-date information — including a complete set of vital signs — prior to EMS arrival, the hospital trauma team can better anticipate patient needs in the first critical moments of care transfer. Outcomes will be measured by tracking and comparing trauma team care times before and after implementation of the project.