The Malta & McConnelsville (OH) Fire Department announced the implementation of an innovative initiative using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve patient care and outcomes.
The initiative, called AQUA (Artificial Intelligence Quality Assurance), conducts an analysis of all EMS responses the fire department responds to.
AQUA utilizes AI to analyze the EMS run reports, including the care provided and medications delivered, against the type of call and the outcomes for the patient. Within moments, AQUA can determine if the proper care was delivered, if improvements could be made and whether additional training is needed for the EMS clinicians.
If additional training is determined to be needed, the program delivers four 15-minute training sessions to the clinician plus a quiz at the end. In addition to honing their skills and making them better EMS providers, the program also results in a one-hour credit for each completed training and successful quiz.
The Malta & McConnelsville Fire Department serves a rural area with no emergency departments in their county and at least a one-hour transport to the nearest trauma center of any level. Fire department officials are encouraged by the early results and believe this initiative will improve the skills of their EMS clinicians and vastly improve patient care and outcomes in their service area.
“Working in conjunction with our medical directors, we have essentially instituted a real-time quality assurance office for EMS at the Malta & McConnelsville Fire Department,” said Jacob Woodward, paramedic captain of EMS operations and EMS coordinator. “We are literally adjusting clinician style and performance between events.”
“The next event will always be better, even if the prior call had a positive outcome,” said Joshua Tilton, Malta & McConnelsville clinical quality officer, paramedic and current PhD candidate overseeing the initiative. “This is giving the department a consistent measurement of quality and real-time feedback that makes their EMS clinicians better after each event.”
Woodward and Tilton both stress that one aspect of the initiative is critical and something that all departments should be paying attention to if they hope to one day take advantage of similar AI programs. “Data matters,” says Woodward. “When your reports are well-written and thorough, they can and will save lives,” said Tilton.
Perhaps the second-best part of the initiative, after improved patient outcomes, is the cost. AQUA is free to the fire department and the citizens of the Malta and McConnelsville. Tilton is conducting the work as part of his PhD work in Artificial Intelligence at Capitol Technology University.
Ultimately, Tilton hopes this and similar initiatives will be implemented by more fire and EMS departments across the nation.
“I believe this will save lives, and it is scalable for small and large departments alike,” said Tilton. “If this continues to be a success, patients everywhere could—and should—benefit.”
