Better Alerting from EMS to Hospitals

We all played telephone as kids. Where you tell your neighbor one thing, and the last person who hears it, hears something totally different. Or, less amusing and more common, when just between two people the message gets a little distorted.

“Buy milk at the store” becomes “Bye to the elk and stork,” in a game of telephone.

“See you after school” becomes “See you at school,” when talking to your kid.

Unfortunately the same thing can happen between paramedics and hospital personnel. Add in a garbled radio conversation and messy handwritten notes, and it’s easy to see how with every good intention, we’re playing a game of telephone with our patients’ information.

From Verbal Alerts to Visual Alerts

Hospitals and EMS can now provide visual alerts and as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. With digital, visual hospital alerting systems, EMS can send alerts with photos and written documentation. A photo of a gunshot wound or a motor vehicle collision victim with written documentation of vital signs provides ED teams with the information they need to prepare rooms and activate specialty teams.

To learn more about updating the alerting system at your hospital, request a demo of ESO Alerting or read “7 Must-Have Features for Early Alerting Systems.”