Annually emergency medical services providers carry out more than 16 million medical transports in the United States. Mass catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina have underscored the value of accessibility to pre-existing patient information in disaster situations.

In metropolitan Indianapolis that information is now at the fingertips of emergency responders. For example, on a recent ambulance run, paramedics from Wishard Health Services encountered an individual with diabetes who, according to family members, was exhibiting abnormal behavior. Once the paramedics found the patient's blood sugar to be within normal limits and ruled out diabetes as a likely cause, they turned to INPC for reliable and helpful information on the patient's past medical records to discern other possible reasons for the patient's abnormal behavior.

Today the emergency responders of eight ambulance services in Marion and Hamilton counties, Indiana have the capability to securely access the electronic medical records of the patients they are trying to save.

Research leading to extension of electronic medical records to the ambulance was supported by a grant to the Regenstrief researchers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security.

Source: Indiana University School of Medicine