EMSA is pleased to announce that all of the objectives and milestones for the PULSE +EMS ONC grant, that ends today–July 26, 2017, have been met. EMSA is grateful for ALL of the partners that have made achievement of these goals possible, with special recognition to the California Association of Health Information Exchanges (CAHIE).
The Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE) has been completed by Audacious Inquiry (Ai) and is in production. A successful drill was completed in June 2017 and demonstrated that PULSE could be securely accessed through the Disaster HealthCare Volunteers system (Powered by Intermedix) and connections with four HIOs/HIEs could be made. These connections with Orange County HIO (OCPRHIO), Santa Cruz HIE, Sutter Health, and UC Davis Health System allowed medical professionals to search for patient information and
The +EMS system (HIE for EMS for daily use) allows for SAFR (SEARCH, ALERT, FILE, RECONCILE) functionality for paramedics. Although our original proposal contemplated only 2 local EMS area, we have achieved +EMS in 4 local areas. +EMS has been implemented in San Diego County through the leadership of San Diego Health Connect, and City of San Diego/AMR-RuralMetro, and UC San Diego Medical Center, using WATER ePCR system and Epic products. Also, Orange County HIO (OCPRHIO), Orange County EMS, Newport Beach Fire, and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian collaborated to implement +EMS using ImageTrend, as featured in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (May 2017). As a bonus, both Imperial County, with Schaefer’s Ambulance and El Centro Regional Medial Center has implemented using San Diego Health Connect and TraumaSoft, and Inland Counties EMS Agency has implemented +EMS using ImageTrend, and connecting AMR and Arrowhead Medical Center, with Manifest MedEx serving as the HIO hub.
The HIE for EMS Advisory Committee that met quarterly throughout the 2 year grant has served to advocate for better interoperability and energize our California efforts to improve the secure movement of electronic patient health information to the necessary medical professionals to improve the transition of care for emergency medical services patients.
Leslie Witten-Rood, ONC Grant Project Manager, brought the project to successful completion and ensured that the many objectives and milestones were meticulously achieved. My appreciation also encompasses our entire EMSA team during the grant period. The support of Howard Backer MD, EMSA Director and Rick Trussell, Chief, Fiscal and Administrative Division, have been instrumental in making this project a reality. Additionally, EMSA staff have served to propel this effort including, but not limited to, Patrick Lynch, Manager, DHV System; Rita Cervantes, Staff Analyst; plus our initial project team of June Iljana and Ryan Stanfield.
HIE for EMS in CA 