Download PDF
Appl Clin Inform 2018; 09(04): 884-891
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1676041
Review Article
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Health Information Exchange in Emergency Medical Services

Thomas J. Martin
1   The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
2   Brown University EMS, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
,
Megan L. Ranney
1   The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
3   Department of Emergency Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
,
James Dorroh
2   Brown University EMS, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
,
Nicholas Asselin
1   The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
3   Department of Emergency Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
,
Indra Neil Sarkar
1   The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
4   Center for Biomedical Informatics, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding This work was funded in part by National Institutes of Health grant U54GM115677 and K23MH095866. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Further Information

Publication History

28 August 2018

16 October 2018

Publication Date:
12 December 2018 (online)

Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Background The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has outlined the benefits of health information exchange in emergency medical services (EMSs) according to the SAFR model—search, alert, file, and reconcile—developed in collaboration with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority.

Objective This scoping review aims to identify and characterize progress toward the adoption of prehospital health information exchange, as reported in the peer-reviewed literature.

Methods A structured review of literature in MEDLINE-indexed journals was conducted using the “Electronic Health Records” topic-specific query, the “Emergency Medical Services” Medical Subject Headings descriptor, and a prehospital identifier.

Results Our initial search yielded 368 nonduplicative, English-language articles; 131 articles underwent full-text review and 11 were selected for analysis according to pre-established inclusion criteria. Original research was thematically grouped according to the SAFR model.

Conclusion Within isolated systems, there has been limited progress toward the adoption of prehospital health information exchange. Interoperability, accurate match algorithms, security, and wireless connectivity have been identified as potential barriers to adoption. Additional research is required to evaluate the role of health information exchange within EMSs.

Keywords

emergency medical services - emergency medical service communication systems - health information exchange

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

There were no human or animal subjects included in this review.


 

  • References

  • 1 Administration NHTS. Others. EMS Agenda for the Future. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 1996
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 2 Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Emergency Medical Services at the Crossroads. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2007
    Search in Google Scholar
  • 3 Meisel ZF, Shea JA, Peacock NJ. , et al. Optimizing the patient handoff between emergency medical services and the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med 2015; 65 (03) 310-317
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 4 Goldberg SA, Porat A, Strother CG. , et al. Quantitative analysis of the content of EMS handoff of critically ill and injured patients to the emergency department. Prehosp Emerg Care 2017; 21 (01) 14-17
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Landman AB, Rokos IC, Burns K. , et al. An open, interoperable, and scalable prehospital information technology network architecture. Prehosp Emerg Care 2011; 15 (02) 149-157
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 6 Swain M, Charles D, Patel V, Mpa TS. Health Information Exchange among U.S. Non -Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2008–2014. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; 2015 . Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/data-brief/ONC_DataBrief24_HIE_Final.pdf . Accessed October 31, 2018
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 7 Health Information Exchange & Emergency Medical Services. Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/HIE_Value_Prop_EMS_Memo_6_21_16_FINAL_generic.pdf . Accessed October 31, 2018
    PubMed
  • 8 Smiley DR, Stratton SJ. Armed with History: Orange County, Calif., begins field implementation of EMS access to patient history via bidirectional information exchange. JEMS 2017; 42 (05) 25-29
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 9 Minch D. The California EMS Projects. Presented at the NEMSIS TAC 2016 Annual Meeting; October 18, 2016 ; Lodges at Deer Valley, Park City, Utah. Available at: www.nemsis.org . Accessed October 31, 2018
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 10 Health Information Exchange Issue Brief: National Emergency Medical Services Use Cases. Available at: https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/IssueBrief-NationalEMS_Use_Cases.pdf . Accessed October 31, 2018
    PubMed
  • 11 Wallace BC, Small K, Brodley CE, Lau J, Trikalinos TA. Deploying an Interactive Machine Learning System in an Evidence-based Practice Center: Abstrackr. In: Proceedings of the 2Nd ACM SIGHIT International Health Informatics Symposium. IHI '12. New York, NY, USA: ACM; 2012 :819–824
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 12 Sanderson H, Adams T, Budden M, Hoare C. Lessons from the central Hampshire electronic health record pilot project: evaluation of the electronic health record for supporting patient care and secondary analysis. BMJ 2004; 328 (7444): 875-878
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 13 Morris LMM, Brown C, Williamson M, Wyatt JC. The Scottish Emergency Care Summary--an evaluation of a national shared record system aiming to improve patient care: technology report. Inform Prim Care 2012; 20 (01) 41-49
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 14 Craig J, Morris L, Cameron J. , et al. An evaluation of the impact of the key information summary on GPs and out-of-hours clinicians in NHS Scotland. Scott Med J 2015; 60 (03) 126-131
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 15 Jones T, Dobrev A, Cameron J, Morris L, Stroetmann KA, Stroetmann VN. An economic analysis of the national shared Emergency Care Summary in Scotland. J Telemed Telecare 2009; 15 (03) 129-131
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 16 Park SC, Finnell JT. Indianapolis emergency medical service and the Indiana Network for Patient Care: evaluating the patient match algorithm. AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2012; 2012: 1221-1228
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 17 Finnell JT, Overhage JM. Emergency medical services: the frontier in health information exchange. AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2010; 2010: 222-226
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 18 Anantharaman V, Swee Han L. Hospital and emergency ambulance link: using IT to enhance emergency pre-hospital care. Int J Med Inform 2001; 61 (2-3): 147-161
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 19 Walderhaug S, Meland PH, Mikalsen M, Sagen T, Brevik JI. Evacuation support system for improved medical documentation and information flow in the field. Int J Med Inform 2008; 77 (02) 137-151
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 20 Nakada T-A, Masunaga N, Nakao S. , et al. Development of a prehospital vital signs chart sharing system. Am J Emerg Med 2016; 34 (01) 88-92
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 21 Gaynor M, Myung D, Gupta A, Moulton S. A standardised pre-hospital electronic patient care system. Int J Electron Healthc 2009; 5 (02) 102-136
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 22 Nakae T, Kataoka H, Kuwata S, Iihara K. Smartphone-assisted prehospital medical information system for analyzing data on prehospital stroke care. Stroke 2014; 45 (05) 1501-1504
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 23 Cummins MR, Ranade-Kharkar P, Johansen C. , et al. Simple workflow changes enable effective patient identity matching in poison control. Appl Clin Inform 2018; 9 (03) 553-557
    Thieme ConnectPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 24 Nelson SD, Del Fiol G, Hanseler H, Crouch BI, Cummins MR. Software prototyping: a case report of refining user requirements for a health information exchange dashboard. Appl Clin Inform 2016; 7 (01) 22-32
    Thieme ConnectPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 25 First Responder Network Authority. FirstNet. Available at: http://www.firstnet.gov . Accessed August 1, 2018
    PubMed