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Ambulance Tracking Tool
Launched at LIJ
By Betty Olt
NEW HYDE PARK — North
Shore-LIJ’s Center for
Emergency Medical Services
(CEMS) has installed a new
wireless tracking system to
better predict ambulance
arrivals and collect critical
health data in real time before
patients arrive at the Emergency
Department (ED). The new
technology was recently rolled
out at LIJ, the first hospital on
Long Island and Queens to use
the software.
Responding to 911 calls,
paramedics and emergency
medical technicians (EMTs)
begin their assessment
and gather critical patient
information. Using a laptop
computer, emergency medical
workers transmit patients’
age, gender, vital signs and
brief comments about their
condition — for example,
“dizziness, seizure, fainting.”
Information is displayed on a
40-inch monitor on the wall
facing the entrance of LIJ’s
ambulance bay (names are
not used to protect patient
privacy). Triage nurses or
physicians can get a quick visual
picture about the number of
ambulances en route to the
88 Summer 2012
hospital and the severity of
patients’ conditions, which
allow staff to better prepare
for patients and manage care.
Physicians and nurses can also
access patient information on
computers in the ED.
“The ED is an
unpredictable place,” said
Salvatore Pardo, MD,
associate chairman of
emergency medicine at LIJ.
“The technology is a great
tool because it gives the ED
team information at a glance
to better plan for incoming
patients.” From several yards
away staff can see incoming
cases blinking on the monitor,
with trauma cases in black
or cardiac arrests in orange,
for example. Previously, Dr.
Pardo said the ED would get
a phone call from emergency
medical staff in the ambulance
and it was nearly impossible
to capture all details of a
patient’s condition. (EMTs
will likely still call ahead to the
ED to alert staff to heart attack
or major trauma patients.)
“The tracking system
eliminates paperwork and
gets patients registered before
they arrive, making treatment
and the entire process more
effective,” he added.
The new tracking system,
known as XChangER, was
developed by the Duluth,
MN-based company Sansio.
Currently, North Shore-LIJ
EMS and the SeniorCare EMS
are using the system at LIJ.
CEMS, the largest hospitalbased
ambulance service in
the New York metropolitan
area and one of the largest
in the country, plans to
introduce the technology at
other health system hospitals
in the coming months.
“The tracking technology
provides a continuum of
care for patients, integrating
information taken at the
emergency site and in the
ambulance prior to arrival at
the hospital for treatment,”
said Alan Schwalberg, CEMS
vice president. “Combining
the technology of electronic
medical records and this new
tracking software, we are
providing accurate, up-to-the
minute health information
about patients so ED staff can
prepare and coordinate the
best possible medical care.”
In the past year, LIJ’s
ED saw a 36 percent increase
in patient visits, partially
attributable to recent hospital
closures in Queens, according
to Patricia Farrell, RN, senior
administrative director of
patient care services at LIJ.
Each month, LIJ’s ED receives
about 1,400 ambulances
via 911 calls; it receives