ShareThisA new smart phone application promises to save lives by providing field support to emergency medical services staff and other first responders.
The EMS Field Partner, an Apple iPhone application, comes from Pittsburgh-based West Penn Allegheny Health System.
With the touch of a button, paramedics have access to critical life support information and a triage system that can direct them -- based on the patient's injury or illness -- to a specific WPAHS hospital in western Pennsylvania. The app also can provide immediate access to an emergency physician and instantly alert medic command that a medical transport helicopter should stand by.
The software, free through the Apple Store, had nearly 2,000 downloads in its first month. People must register for special features such as physician contact information and medical air transport alerts, and so far 300 paramedics, EMTs and police officers have signed on.
Nico Soler, a paramedic and ambulance service supervisor, was the first to use Field Partner's air transport. Responding to an accident that left a motorist trapped in her car, he called for a helicopter transport and, with the push of a button, alerted a flight crew and gave precise GPS coordinates.
Currently, emergency responders have to consult a 180-page field guide they carry with them for dealing with unfamiliar situations, such as calculating the correct dosage for a small child.
"People tend to see children as little adults, but they're not. Even CPR is different," Soler said. "When your mind is racing, it's nice to have your drug doses pre-calculated."
WPAHS owns intellectual property behind EMS Field Partner. Eric Schmidt, the system's outreach coordinator and a paramedic, said officials had not discussed marketing the application in other regions yet, although they have received inquiries from health systems in West Virginia and South Carolina.
For more information, see LifeFlight website at www.facebook.com/lifeflight.
(Contact Steve Twedt at stwedt(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
