ems: creating connected healthcare

8/13/2019 EMS: Creating Connected Healthcare

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EMBRACING A NEW ERA OF INFORMATION SHARING

Creating connected healthcare


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THE OPPORTUNITY

The continuum of careis not yet complete. Despite recent healthcare reforms and unprecedented

investment in health IT, the healthcare system remains highlyfragmented and disconnected. Much information remainstrapped in paper and what information has been digitized

remains in silos, disconnected from other providers withinthe healthcare ecosystem.

The healthcare system is anything but.

This challenge highlights the need for a complete

transformation in healthcareone that is integrated

across the entire continuum of care and can offer a

more sustainable health system. Integrated

healthcare delivery relies on a key enabler

CONNECTED HEALTHCARE.


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DIGITIZE. CONNECT. IMPROVE

The vision for connected healthcare

is simpleall parts of the health-

care system are seamlessly

integrated through interoperable

processes and technology, and

critical health information is

available when and where it is

needed. However, realizing this

vision remains a challenge.

This is due in large part to a majormissing link in the continuum of care: the connection between pre-hospital healthcare (EMS)wheremedicine is practiced in the fieldand the broader healthcare system,particularly hospitals and physicians.

For example, EMS does not knowthe outcome of their patients afterdelivering them to the hospital,leaving many unanswered questions.Was the best protocol administeredgiven the emergency rooms actualdiagnosis? Is EMS taking patientsto hospitals that provide the best

outcomes? Do paramedics needfurther training to improve finalpatient outcomes for a particularillness or injury?

Because data isnt shared betweenEMS and hospitals, these and manyother questions cannot be easilyanswered.

THE VISION

If EMS and healthcare communities are truly connected, informationcan be easily accessed and shared, encouraging communicationand collaboration among all stakeholders involved in a patientshealth and, ultimately, improving patient care and outcomes.

By creating a data exchange with hospitals, EMS can leverage patient outcome

data to employ meaningful quality improvement initiatives.

PAPER-BASED SYSTEMSMany pre-hospital providers still use paper to record medical

procedures in the field.

SPORADIC INTEGRATIONPre-hospital providers and hospitals speak different languages,NEMSIS XL and HL7 respectively.

SILOED DATA

Information is not routinely shared within the pre-hospital community, much less between EMS and hospitals.

There are several reasons why such a gapexists between EMS and hospitals:


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THE PLAN

Creating connected healthcare.

When systems of care are aligned, information is interconnected, carebecomes collaborative, and knowledge is shared.

INFORMATION ISINTERCONNECTED

Much of EMS patient data istrapped in paper and very little is

interconnected to the greater healthcare ecosystem. Digitizing, and thus unlocking, patient records will allow caregivers access to life-saving informationwhen and where its needed.

KNOWLEDGE IS SHARED

Once information is unlocked,data can be shared throughoutthe healthcare ecosystem anddecoded so that caregivers can

evaluate outcomes and identify areas for improvement as well asfind and replicate best practices

in their healthcare systems.

CARE IS COLLABORATIVE

The integration of pre-hospital, hospital, and post hospital patient data can inform clinicaldecision making, improving

hand-offs and overall patientcare throughout the entire carecontinuum.

By creating a data exchange with hospitals, EMS can leverage patient

outcome data to employ meaningful quality improvement initiatives

Optimal patient care requires providers to be interconnected

across the full continuum of health needs. Truly connected

systems of care in turn require pre-hospital care, hospitals, home

care agencies, physicians, and other providers to be clinically

aligned. And the key to clinical alignment is an integrated

electronic health record that serves the entire healthcare system.

In order to reach this next level of care, EMS and hospitals must take steps to knock down currentbarriers of communication and embrace a new era of information sharing.


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THE SOLUTION

Digitizing records is the foundation. Information is the lifeline of healthcareit's critical to savinglives and preventing medical errors. Yet vital medical,clinical and patient information is currently fragmented,making it difficult for EMS providers to share data acrossthe healthcare ecosystem.

EMS' first step is to digitize patient care records.This creates the foundation from which information is easilyand securely stored, analyzed and shared, and allows theEMS community to connect with other healthcare providers.

Putting detailed patient information at the fingertips ofhealthcare professionals across the care continuum can be adaunting and difficult task. EMS providers can better addressthis task by breaking it down into three discrete projects:

Unlock information from the shackles of paperwith electronic patient care record software

Properly secure information to ensure patient privacy

Make information readily available any time, atany point of care

Connecting creates thecontinuum of care.

Exchanging health information between EMS and hospitalclinicians, across health information exchanges, and withinadministrative groups facilitates better collaboration amongall healthcare providers, creating a true continuum of care.When information is exchanged:

EMS has access to valuable outcome information andpatient demographic data.

Outcome data fuels comprehensive qualitymanagement

Leveraging hospital patient demographic dataimproves billing

Hospitals are able to view the EMS patient care recordfrom directly within their EMR.

Better clinical data at the point of patient ER transfer

Pre-hospital patient data for registry reporting(trauma, STEMI, stroke etc.)


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Sharing knowledgeimproves care. Today, EMS agencies rely solely on their own datafor quality management initiatives.

By sharing data with hospitals and health information

exchanges, EMS is able to follow patient results all

the way through the care continuum and can also

benchmark their data against other agencies within a

local, state, regional or national area.

These new-found sources of data enable EMS tocreate robust quality management programs basedon actual patient outcome data and compare theirperformance across the industry. This visibility intothe continuum of care is vital to improving end-to-end patient care.


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The healthcare industry is at acrossroads. To move forward, there area number of critical issues that must beaddressed. The healthcare system isnta true system its mostly manual,fragmented, and unstable. Informationis trapped in paper, and very little isinterconnected to the rest of thehealthcare ecosystem. And we areexperiencing an unsustainable spiral ofcosts, coupled with rapidly shrinkingresources.

These challenges highlight the need foran interconnected healthcare system.Before there can be a true continuumof care, there must be a continuum ofinformation.

Once the pre-hospital industry is fullyconnected to hospitals and the greaterhealthcare ecosystem, information willbe available when and where it isneeded and care will become morecollaborative along the continuum ofcare, ultimately improving patientoutcomes.

EMS can follow these three steps tohelp create connected healthcare:

1. Digitize patient records, layingthe foundation for sharing data.

2. Connect to hospitals and theirhealthcare communities,creating a bridge for data toflow between providers.

3. Improve patient care,community health, and cost ofcare by leveraging these newfound sources of data.

In Summary

Before there can be atrue continuum of care,

there must be acontinuum ofinformation.


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ems: creating connected healthcare

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