CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Cambridge EMS system has successfully implemented the first Internet-based 12-Lead electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission system in Greater Boston, a cutting edge technology that helps heart-attack patients receive treatment faster, saving lives.
Professional Ambulance Service (Pro EMS) teamed up with Cambridge Fire Department and Mt. Auburn Hospital to set up the LIFENET STEMI Management Solution from Physio-Control. The early warning system allows paramedics to securely deliver ECG data over the Web to the hospital as they’re treating a patient. Doctors at the hospital who receive the ECG can verify the patient’s treatment needs and mobilize the necessary medical resources, including a cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab), ahead of the patient’s actual arrival. The system shaves precious minutes off admittance and treatment protocols at the hospital, reducing the chances of damage to a patient’s heart, or even their death.
The adoption of this new system allows the Cambridge EMS system and Mt. Auburn Hospital, in particular, to treat acute heart-attack patients in the cath lab within 90 minutes of their arrival at the hospital — a national standard by which hospitals are measured for their quality of care. Studies have shown that those patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who are treated in the cath lab within that period of time are less likely to develop long-term heart dysfunction, have a recurring heart attack, or die.
“Time is muscle,” said Dr. Todd Thomsen, emergency medicine physician at Mt. Auburn Hospital. “Every second shaved off of the door-to-balloon time saves heart muscle, which does not regenerate after myocardial infarction.”
Half a million Americans experience STEMI each year, and a third of them die within 24 hours if they’re not treated in a cath lab. If door-to-balloon time extends beyond the 90 minutes recommended by both the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA), mortality has been shown to increase by 40 percent.
“Our goal is to use technology and improvements in medical protocols to continuously improve patient care,” said Bill Mergendahl, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge-based Pro EMS. “We are pleased to be among a small but growing number of EMS systems in the country to adopt LIFENET, which we are convinced will help save lives in Cambridge. Going forward, we hope to help make this a standard practice with all the hospitals who receive our patients.”
LIFENET is a software-based system installed on existing computers that allows paramedics to alert hospital personnel of a suspected STEMI patient, and receive confirmation from the hospital of their diagnosis while a patient is en route to the hospital. It also allows the hospital to mobilize the cath lab when necessary — or avoid false positive cath lab activations, saving money.
Every paramedic in the Cambridge EMS system has been trained to use the new system. Mt. Auburn Hospital is currently the only hospital in the Greater Boston area that has the technology to receive their pre-hospital transmissions.
About Professional Ambulance Service
Professional Ambulance Service (Pro EMS) provides emergency medical services to the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts in conjunction with the Cambridge Fire, Police, Emergency Communications and Public Health Departments. Additionally, Pro EMS provides emergency medical services to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professional Ambulance has proudly served the citizens, students, and visitors of Cambridge for over 35 years. For more information, visit www.proems.com.
