September 25, 2020

Mercy Medical Center improves pre-hospital communications with new telemedicine app

REGIONAL
Staff report

Dale Lafayette Jr., EMS coordinator, demonstrates the e-Bridge mobile app. (iObserve photos/courtesy of Mercy Medical Center)

SPRINGFIELD – Fast, accurate communication is never more important than when a patient needs emergency medical care. Mercy Medical Center is utilizing new technology to help meet that need and improve care by allowing providers to better prepare for patients before they arrive at the Emergency Department (ED).   

Mercy has launched the GD e-Bridge mobile app, a telemedicine app that improves communication between Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers and Mercy’s ED. The e-Bridge mobile app allows EMS providers to use their cell phone to securely transmit critical patient information, such as EKGs, COVID status, and stroke symptoms, directly to the ED.  The app saves valuable time, allowing ED staff to better prepare for the patient’s arrival and begin necessary treatment sooner.

Also, all patient and diagnostic information captured by the EMS provider’s cell phone is encrypted to protect patient privacy and ensure compliance with HIPAA.

“The use of e-Bridge has allowed us to strengthen our partnership with area ambulance services by streamlining and enhancing prehospital communication, thereby benefiting patients and providers alike,” said Dale Lafayette Jr., EMS coordinator at Mercy Medical Center. “For example, every minute counts when a patient presents with a stroke and receiving detailed patient information ‘from the field’ allows us to better prepare for such a patient’s arrival at Mercy.” 

Mercy Emergency Department’s Dr. Matthew Cauchon, and Erin Daley, director of Emergency Services, use e-Bridge to accept information about an incoming patient.

The e-Bridge mobile app also includes a time stamp feature that helps stroke coordinators enhance their reporting and maintain Mercy Medical Center’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award designation, the highest stroke center recognition from the American Heart Association. The technology also helps alert various teams within the Mercy — from behavioral health to opioid addiction to the obstetrics teams — about incoming patients. The alerts allow hospital staff to ensure the necessary equipment is available in the correct area when the patient arrives to enhance treatment and response times.

“Mercy’s Emergency Department is committed to providing high quality care that is quick and effective, allowing our patients to achieve the best possible outcome. The e-Bridge mobile app has become an invaluable tool as we continue to meet that goal,” said Dr. Matthew Cauchon, of the Emergency Department, Mercy Medical Center.