Can Real-Time Prehospital Medical Record Data Presented on A Screen Enhance Team Readiness in the Emergency Department? A Pilot Study.
The Journal of emergency medicine · 2025-10-22 · Quasi-experimental
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) continuously document treatment and patient condition information in the electronic prehospital medical record (ePMR) during care. Only selected information is communicated via telephone to the emergency department (ED) and the waiting ED team, potentially leading to loss of valuable information. OBJECTIVES: To pilot-test whether implementing real-time, screen-based access to prehospital medical records before patient arrival enhances the ED team's readiness. METHODS: Pilot study of implementing wall-mounted screens connected to the ePMR system in the ED trauma rooms in the North Denmark Regional Hospital. Three months before and four months after implementation, we measured the overall self-reported readiness of the ED team by questionnaires. The readiness rating was based on a visual analogue scale (VAS 0-15) and three sub-questions. RESULTS: We included 393 questionnaires (traumas N = 199, medical emergencies N = 194) corresponding to capture of 46% (141/307) of all events. For all questionnaires combined, overall readiness increased from a median of 7.1 (IQR 6.5-12.9) to 12.8 (IQR 9.7-14), p < 0.001. Stratified by event type, results persisted. Trauma: 7.1 (6.8-12.7) to 13.4 (9-14), p < 0.001; medical emergency: 7.1 (5.7-12.9) to 12.2 (9.7-13.9), p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Measured by questionnaires, we found that easy access to real-time EMS patient data, visualized on a screen in the trauma room before receiving patients with traumas or medical emergencies, significantly increases the overall self-reported readiness of the ED team members. TRIAL REGISTRATION: None.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Communication & handover · Implementation · Telemedicine
Related articles
- Challenges and opportunities to improve efficiency and quality of prehospital emergency care using an mHealth platform: Qualitative study in Rwanda. (Afr J Emerg Med, 2023)
- Mobile Real-time Tracking of Acute Stroke Patients and Instant, Secure Inter-team Communication - the Join App. (Neurointervention, 2017)
- Perceptions of a Secure Cloud-Based Solution for Data Sharing During Acute Stroke Care: Qualitative Interview Study. (JMIR Form Res, 2022)
- Implementation phase of a multicentre prehospital telemedicine system to support paramedics: feasibility and possible limitations. (Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med, 2013)
- Exploratory study to identify facilitators and barriers for implementing a multiplatform communication app for prehospital screening and transfer follow-up in acute stroke. (Medwave, 2026)
- Overcoming language barriers in paramedic care: a study protocol of the interventional trial 'DICTUM rescue' evaluating an app designed to improve communication between paramedics and foreign-language patients. (BMC Health Serv Res, 2020)