Information needs of pre-hospital care providers - a requirements analysis.

To assess information needs of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and the potential of electronic decision support tools, we surveyed 39 paramedic students and practicing EMS personnel. We found frequent use of paper-based tools, with imperfect accessibility and ease of use. Potential electronic decision support tools were rated as helpful, but some alerts were rated low. The results may be helpful in design, implementation and research of electronic decision support tools for EMS.

Development and testing of an algorithm for efficient resource positioning in pre-hospital emergency care.

Response times for pre-hospital emergency care may be improved with the use of algorithms that analyzes historical patterns in incident location and suggests optimal places for pre-positioning of emergency response units. We will develop such an algorithm based on cluster analysis and test whether it leads to significant improvement in mileage when compared to actual historical data of dispatching based on fixed stations.

A study design for comparing electronic patient care report (ePCR) with paper PCR in pre-hospital care.

Data gathering processes in pre-hospital care have been poorly studied. This study aims to compare an electronic PCR with the current paper standard. EMTs will hear a case narrative and enter this information in paper PCR, ePCR or ePCR pre-filled with historical patient data pulled from a database. Time taken, accuracy and completeness will be measured for each encounter. This study will provide better insight into data entry at the point of care.