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Electronic EMS Patient Data Pilot Project 5/16/2008

In cooperation with the Oregon Office of Rural Health, Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Health and Sciences University, the EMS and Trauma Systems Program has established a pilot project to study the usefulness of an Internet-based data system for prehospital patient care reports.

The study will focus on three areas to identify the costs and benefits of establishing a Web-based patient care record database. Comments from Oregon EMS agencies and hospitals will help us determine whether a system would be useful in Oregon. Both Washington and Idaho developed EMS patient care databases last year and each selected ImageTrend as its vendor, so Oregon will use ImageTrend for the pilot project.

The first of the three areas addressed by the project is using the system to create and enter a patient care record. Training sessions for this will be held:

  • Klamath Falls, May 16
  • Bend, May 17

A Webinar (Web-based training) accessible by any agency with a high-speed internet connection is scheduled for June. Contact Kassie Clarke by email at clarkek@ohsu.edu, or Will Worrall at 971-673-0536 or by email at william.h.worrall@state.or.us for details.

The second area involves collecting EMS patient encounter data from all EMS providers for the month of May 2008. The EMS and Trauma Systems Program and the OHSU School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, will identify the costs, issues and barriers to collecting data from EMS providers in Oregon. More specific information will be shared in the future.

The third area of the project is identifying whether the data is useful to emergency medical services providers, EMS Medical Directors, regional and statewide programs such as the State EMS Advisory Committee, State Trauma Advisory Board and State EMS for Children Committee, as well as many other Oregon public health, public safety and emergency management programs. The study also will consider which prehospital data items should be included if an EMS patient encounter database is established.

A report will be prepared documenting what is learned from this pilot and will identify the costs and benefits of establishing an EMS patient encounter database in Oregon.

There are several things that make the current effort promising:

  • This is a pilot project to determine the feasibility as well as costs and benefits of an EMS patient encounter data system. This is not an attempt to establish a system.
  • Many EMS agencies in Oregon use electronic patient records. Several more agencies are planning to use electronic records this year.
  • The National Emergency Medical Services Information System (http://www.nemsis.org/) data standards. Current EMS computer software uses this format, which permits transferring information from one computer system to another.
  • There are national vendors so that the state will not have to rely on internal resources to create a data system.
  • The Internet is more robust and the techniques to secure data are well- established.
  • Many states, including our neighbors Washington and Idaho, have established these data systems.