The Journal of mHealth Vol 3 Issue 5 (Oct/Nov) | Page 6

Applying Technology to Improve Care

Navigating the Pre-hospital to Emergency Room Transition with...

Applying Technology to

Improve Care

before they do; pivoting healthcare from
reactive to proactive. Several startups are
attempting to achieve this, but progress
is in its early stages.
Across care we are now starting to see
the beginning of a more comprehensive
approach to digital; with technologies
that empower patients to better manage
their conditions, enable front-line staff
to deliver higher quality care, and boost
system efficiency.
The digital revolution has the potential
to realise our health, quality and efficiency ambitions; now is the time to
embrace it.

About the author
Dr Mahiben Maruthappu is a British doctor, policymaker, academic and
entrepreneur. He co-founded the NHS
Innovation Accelerator (NIA).
Maruthappu also advises the CEO of
the National Health Service (NHS England), Simon Stevens, on managing £100
billion of health spending, focusing on
innovation, technology and prevention.

the OECD (Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development), while
demonstrating the protective effect of
universal health coverage.
He is currently developing a technology
solution to transform social care and help
cure the UK care crisis. Cera.com n

In 2016, Maruthappu led the groundbreaking study published in the Lancet, linking the global economic crisis
to 260,000 additional cancer deaths in

Navigating the Pre-hospital to
Emergency Room Transition with
Data Sharing
By Mike Kobneck
By Dr. Maruthappu
Technology is now playing a profound
role in how we live our lives, how we
interact with one another, and how we
do business. But up until now, healthcare
has somewhat lagged behind.
As we’re faced with a growing, ageing
population, with figures suggesting that
by 2035 those over 65 will make up
23% of the population, the race is on to
find tech-solutions to improve our care
system, motivated by a need both to
improve services and to save costs. As our
care system struggles with an unsustainable mismatch between resources and
demand, the health industry needs to
embrace technology solutions so it can
do more with less.

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Cutting edge technology has already
led to significant advances in how our
health care is delivered, from robotic
surgery to diagnostics. But now tech
entrepreneurs are starting to shape the
health and care industry, with innovations that can make doctor’s visits more
efficient, with fewer medical errors, and
greater patient satisfaction.

October/November 2016

In fact, one of the most striking revelations in recent research shows that the
shift in individuals accessing healthcare
information via computers and mobile
devices is happening at a significant pace.
The ‘digital patient’ is becoming ever
more tech savvy; now we need tools that
meet their demands.
Given the choice, most seniors would
choose to live independently in their own
homes, rather than move to a care home.
But can a senior who is growing more
frail with age and has chronic health conditions that require regular monitoring,
continue to live safely at home?
The answer is yes: in an age of technology, wireless communications and smart
appliances, this is now possible. Technology designed for the aging population is
enabling seniors to remain at home longer – receiving the right care, at the right
time, in the right place, with devices that
constantly monitor a senior's safety and
health. While everyone won’t be a candidate for staying at home, there is no
doubt that more seniors could remain
at home for longer, with better use of
today’s technologies.

Only a few years ago, the idea of ‘hailing’
a cab through our smartphones seemed
a foreign concept. Then came Uber and
Lyft, who today serve as the primary
platforms for requesting a cab, thanks
to smart and user-friendly technology.
Regardless of age and even tech literacy,
many understand, appreciate and experience the benefits of Uber.
With this in mind, what we need is
digitalisation of health care; easy-to-use,
Uber-like platforms that provide seniors
with a seamless experience allowing
them to book and manage home services
online, review and rate care professionals, monitor progress via smartphone,
tablet or computer, as well as track patterns in health and wellbeing for illness
prevention – for themselves, for their
care-providers and for their loved ones.
Another breakthrough within healthtech is the use of artificial intelligence
(AI); this will be transformative when its
potential is fully realised. AI will be able
to help us to coordinate and utilise data
in a way that’s currently not possible,
soon allowing us to predict who, when
and where is likely to be come unwell,

Overview: The Chaotic Process
The transition in care from Pre-hospital providers to Emergency Room staff
has always been a very chaotic process.
Highly skilled paramedics start patient
care in the field, yet upon arriving to the
hospital, there is a gap in communication that leaves much room for improvement. Communication of treatment
and findings to Emergency Room staff
is often limited and subjective, preventing the ER from thoroughly preparing.
When hospital staff are unable to prepare accurately, patients suffer, resources
are wasted, and quality of care begins to
decline. When paramedics notify the
hospital, they typically are in the back
of the ambulance by themselves, performing multiple life saving procedures.
Imagine a patient with EMS in cardiac
arrest. The patient is intubated, IV’s
running, shocks have been given, and
medications administered. When this
patient is being rolled into the facility on
a stretcher, no patient care can be done
until they are registered. Medications,
orders, and labs are all on hold until the
patient has an actual record in the EHR.

Patient care has stopped in lieu of formalities. This moment in time is critical
to have the most accurate, and concise
information to make this transition in
care as smooth as possible.
The majority of registration errors happen at thi s exact moment. So what
happens when patient hand off doesn’t
go smooth? What happens when the
process is rushed because the patient
is in cardiac arrest? What if the ER is
busy and an ambulance is overlooked?

The answer is that patients suffer, EMS
is unavailable, and the ER has patient
access errors and most concerning -delays in care.

Problem: From Patient Safety,
to Duplicating Efforts, to Money
Lost
As a paramedic, I saw this happen on
almost every call to varying degrees. Start
Continued on page 6

The Journal of mHealth

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