System Profile: Johnson County Ambulance Service

Just like computer aided dispatch and billing, patient care reporting has become a necessity for every EMS organization. But the process by which agencies collect and report their patient data is not standardized. There are many options–including electronic. And just as Ortivus has proven itself with its electronic billing and CAD products, they have done so in the electronic patient care reporting market by meeting the field and office needs with the upcoming release of its new Fusion ePCR.

EMS agencies, such as Johnson County (Iowa) Ambulance Service (JCAS), that have transitioned to Ortivus’ ePCR systems have seen improvements in the timeliness of submission and legibility of the reports, resulting in better overall patient care, an improved relationship with other health-care organizations and improved accuracy of data, which increases successful claim submissions and reimbursements.

“In talking with the crews while they are still in the middle of the learning curve,” says Steve Spenler, director of JCAS, “they enjoy some of the time-saving features, especially having medical information from previous patients automatically fill in.”

He adds, “I enjoy the QA feature. It is easy to select calls for review based on date, protocol, procedures used, provider impression or medications delivered.”

If your system is considering a switch to a new electronic system, the idea of change is probably leaving some users feeling anxious. But customers like JCAS know that Fusion ePCR helps in making the transition go smoothly. A friendly touch-navigated user interface presents familiar terms and picture representations on screen, increasing the speed of adoption by staff and reducing training time. After working through a few incidents, the EMTs will quickly become comfortable with the application and recognize the time savings and other valuable benefits of the Fusion ePCR system.

This system includes the basic features available from most ePCR vendors and also offers many features requested by Sweet -Field Data customers. Fusion ePCR customers can expect to see improvements in:

  • Protocol compliance: The link between Primary Provider Impression and Protocol ensures timely access to pertinent treatment information, along with identification of treatments outside of the protocol. 
  • Patient care: The system presents the field provider with the past medical history of patients previously transported.
  • User preference: The versatility of Fusion ePCR data entry allows field users to enter the data in the field with touch navigation or after delivery of the patient in a traditional keyboard environment.
  • Customizable documentation: Customize such documents as the Medicare signature form, patient refusal statement and patient care report.
  • Data entry: With a truly customizable user interface, each agency can configure the system to its own data-gathering requirements. 
  • Quality assurance: Easily perform reviews of responses based on user-defined criteria and provide feedback to the crews.  

Whether a service is considering a transition from paper to ePCR, or from one ePCR system to another, Fusion ePCR offers unique features and a “built from the ground up” design that caters to the needs of both the providers in the field and the billers and administrators in the office. Fusion ePCR brings the two together.

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