Technology helps Ireland’s emergency services personnel to save time, money and lives!

When we think about emergency services, we know that a workforce with a high level of knowledge, skill and experience is essential to delivering high quality care at that critical time when Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrive at the scene of an incident. An app recently developed by the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) helps make this a reality by giving EMS staff instant access to detailed medical information on an extensive range of problems and situations that they face. The app also provides EMS personnel with a medication dosage calculator that is used to calculate dosages on common medications that they use, based on a patient’s age and weight. 

This is a real life example of how mobile apps can be a really effective and efficient way for organisations such as PHECC to give their members access to important information. In this case the information within the app is intended to act as a resource that helps EMS personnel to use their expertise to respond quicker and more effectively when faced with a crisis situation. 

Before developing a mobile app PHECC relied on publishing a yearly edition of their Field Guide in a booklet. While the booklet was effective, there were some obvious limitations when it came to keeping it up to date over the course of a year.

PHECC ICT Support Officer John Lally explains why they chose to go down the mobile app route. “Having the booklet was great for years, and in many ways it still has its place, but when it comes to updating information during the year and in between editions of the booklet being printed there are obvious limitations there. We needed to be able to update our information and get it out to our members easily and quickly. We noticed just how ubiquitous smartphones were amongst our members and figured that we could deliver the same information in mobile app format and that we would also be able to update the app a lot easier than a booklet.” 

When the decision was made to explore the possibilities of developing an app, John explains where PHECC’s priorities lay. “Being able to content manage the app ourselves was a key factor, as was having the ability to get that updated information instantly out to the people who need it. During the course of that process we found a company called ERS Technology Solutions who actually had a platform called InfoApp Manager that allows users to manage the content of their apps from within SharePoint 2013. As most of our content for the app was already in SharePoint this was a great solution for us and we really began to see how efficient this process could become. It was at this point that an app just seemed to us to be the perfect solution. The fact that ERS Technology Solutions could also develop an App for both iOS and Android, we had originally budgeted for iOS only, at a very reasonable rate was an added bonus. When we got deeper into our discussions with them and we all sat around the table to discuss things we realised that an app could actually do a lot more than push out static information, so we ended up being able to include really cool features such as the medication dosage calculator also.”

The dosage calculator is a section of the app where Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics and Advanced Paramedics can choose a particular type of medication and then enter patient information such as age and weight. They will then be given the exact recommended dosage of that medication for a patient of that age and weight. “This medication calculator is proving very popular with our members, it gives them confidence if they wish to verify a dosage and we believe that is a valuable asset when you are in a crisis situation” says John. 

From the perspective of the Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics and Advanced Paramedics who have been using the app there is also a good feeling about what it brings to the table. The ability to search and find information much quicker, to bookmark frequently visited and important pages, the inclusion of the medication dosage calculator and the fact that you don’t need a torch to read the information in dimly lit places means that for general usability the app comes in streets ahead of the printed booklet in every way. Initial concerns raised about needing an internet signal to access the app were eased when ERS Technology Solutions ensured that all the information within the app would be available offline once the app had been downloaded successfully.

Overall the Field Guide app has been a success story for PHECC, their members on the frontline and ultimately for the patient too. With the technology and devices that are available today, there are many ways that organisations and businesses can be more efficient and profitable. Often, all it takes is for you to take that first step and consult an expert in the field who can point you in the right direction. 

This is what John Lally of PHECC did and both he and the organisation are reaping the benefits. “Because this project has been so successful and has gone so smoothly, we’re already talking to ERS about phase 2. We are looking at developing a dedicated Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) app which we hope will add to both ensuring patient safety and making our members’ lives easier. We hope that our partnership with ERS Technology Solutions continues as it has begun. All of the team at ERS have been great. They have been very attentive and very focussed on making us happy from the outset. Nothing ever seemed to be a problem and we had some good laughs thrown in there too!”

Full details about the app and how it can be purchased can be found on the PHECC website.