E911 Featured Article

Telemedicine and E911 Save Lives Together

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Technology has provided significant benefits to the healthcare industry. Mobility, in particular, is actually providing significant value to both physicians and patients.

One organization benefitting from mobile technology advancements is the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). The hospital focuses on changing potential outcomes - even making it their motto - and makes use of the latest in mobile telemedicine to accomplish the task.

With telemedicine, physicians can connect directly with patients in remote locations by linking patients and critical care transport teams in traveling ambulances directly with doctors at the hospital. Dr. Hamilton Schwartz, a board-certified emergency room pediatric practitioner, is one physician reaping the benefits of telemedicine.

 

"In the past, we had to rely on verbal descriptions over the phone from the teams, and it can be very difficult to communicate the nuances of a physical situation or condition in words," explained Dr. Schwartz.

"For example, in pediatrics, it's critical to see the patient's skin color. Different shades of grey coloration can mean not enough blood flow, or different shades of blue can denote the severity of oxygen deprivation. But describing shades of colors precisely is hard, leaving room for interpretation. It's much easier and faster to diagnose when you can see for yourself."

Dr. Schwartz selected GlobalMedia to implement an in-transit mobile telemedicine solution so critical care transport teams could provide top quality care from the moment of pick-up until the patient reaches the doctor. This system combines the TotalExam examination camera - about the size of a dry erase marker - and a digital stethoscope, microphone and headset and connects them to the Internet from the ambulance to CCHMC.

As a result of this technology, transport teams can send whole body images and zoom in for close-up images. The stethoscope can be used to allow the doctor to hear the heartbeat and respiration firsthand. Constant communication with the transport team with hands free devices insures the doctor has free hands to minister to patients.

 

The Transport AV system enables doctors to quickly determine if a child en route is sicker than originally assumed or not as sick as he or she first appeared. In either situation, doctors and staff at the hospital can properly prepare before the child arrives. In some cases, admission paperwork can be processed while the child is in transit to ensure a room is ready upon arrival.

This advancement in telemedicine is a perfect companion for E911 technology, which focuses on location data to determine the exact address of a caller in need. With the recent advancements in the mobile solutions industry, more and more individuals are using mobile devices to place E911 calls. First-responders need to know how and where to find these individuals.

 

A combination of telemedicine and E911 technology ensures these patients can be found and treatment can be administered as soon as they are on their way to the healthcare facility. Such breakthroughs can assist in saving lives and reduce the number of E911 calls that end in tragedy.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Monda

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