New tool connects EMS workers, hospitals to give patients ‘right care’

A new app is geared to transport the “right patient to the right place for the right care,” said Ryan Burke, emergency management officer at West Chester Hospital.

UC Health’s West Chester Hospital has launched what it calls a “first-of-its-kind mobile application for emergency medical services professionals in the Greater Cincinnati and Greater Miami Valley regions.”

Burke developed the app, The EMSConnect, in conjunction with app developer Paperless Health. The app allows EMS professionals to immediately locate the six closest hospitals in real drive time, access turn-by-turn directions, coordinate with care teams before arrival and quickly call for any extra information.

Matt Schumann, assistant fire chief Fairfield Twp., said the app reduces the time it takes to find crucial information which can save lives.

“Our first responders have never had anything this comprehensive and easy to use until now,” he said.

EMSConnect also provides EMS professionals the opportunity to follow-up with consenting patients to find out how their recovery is going.

Information provided through the app encompasses 58 Southwest and West Central Ohio hospitals and free-standing emergency services, and ensures EMS teams know which locations are closest and best equipped for corresponding emergency needs.

Burke stressed the device wouldn’t directly route patients to the UC health system.

“At UC Health, we are committed to developing innovative solutions to overcome clinical and operational obstacles,” Burke said. “That’s why we were proactive in creating this tool and put it into the pockets of EMS professionals who serve on the front lines of healthcare.”

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