J Korean Med Assoc.  2009 Dec;52(12):1148-1153. 10.5124/jkma.2009.52.12.1148.

Application of u-Health to Emergency Medical Service System

• Lee KH

• KMID: 2188127
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2009.52.12.1148

Abstract

Recent advances in information and telecommunication technology make u-health strategies possible in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system. The u-Health can offer advanced life support, medical oversight to the emergency medical technician, quality improvement in EMS, and hazard management. The aim of this study is to provide comprehensive review, and to discuss the role and problems of the u-Health used in EMS system. The efficient operation of EMS system is contingent upon the quality management of both the working systems and underlying communication infrastructures of u-health. The u-Health services for EMS requires assessment skill, IT technology and organization of all systems. The u-Health raises the level of a medical control and treatment to a much higher degree in pre-hospital setting and also tends to decrease mortality. By utilizing u-Health system, the patient's data collected from ambulances transfer simultaneously to a central emergency medical information center (EMIC) and hospitals. Medical director delivers medical oversight to the paramedics in the ambulance, and also transmits the information to a doctor at ER before arriving to the hospital. The transmitted data contains the patient's information, vital signs (blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and temperature), ECG, pulse oxymetry, a moving picture and information at the point of care administration. For a successful integration of u-Health to EMS system, information technologies, assessment technologies, telecommunications, and legal remedy are needed. Especially, advance in assessment technologies offer the possibility of small size, but also of intelligent, active devices that are wireless and non-invasive or minimally-invasive. u-Health will benefit the patients by advanced life support in pre-hospital and emergency department settings. It will help decrease the cost associated with the hospital, mortality, and morbidity.

Keyword

Emergency medical service system; u-Health; Telemedicine

MeSH Terms

Allied Health Personnel
Ambulances
Blood Pressure
Electrocardiography
Emergencies
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Technicians
Humans
Information Centers
Information Systems
Physician Executives
Quality Improvement
Respiratory Rate
Safety Management
Telecommunications
Telemedicine
Vital Signs

Figure

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  Figure 1 The flow of medical oversight by using of real time telemetry in emergency medical service system.

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