EMS Compass has brought together a diverse group of EMS providers, medical directors, measurement experts, patient advocates and industry representatives, all working together to move the profession forward. Nowhere has that spirit of collaboration been more apparent than with the Technology Developers Group.
The eight members of the group represent software developers and other entities that have developed EMS patient care reporting or data analytics programs. Usually they’re seen as competitors–certainly not the people you’d expect to be sharing data and helping each other understand how best to use EMS data for their customers.
Yet, that’s exactly what’s happened. At meetings of the Technology Developers Group, it’s a regular occurrence to see two software developers from competing ePCR vendors sitting side-by-side, looking at one laptop screen, trying to figure out which NEMSIS data point correlates to the proposed measure or what code to use to calculate it.
“It’s been truly exciting to be in a room where so many great ideas are shared among competitors,” said Technology Developers Group Chair Debbie Gilligan, a product strategist with FirstWatch. “Every member of the group has recognized that EMS Compass has the potential to revolutionize EMS, and they have put the profession and the patients ahead of any corporate rivalries.”
In many cases employers have encouraged group members not only to attend meetings and spend countless hours designing or testing measures, but also to share best practices with each other.
“The long-term health of the EMS profession depends on us working together to develop evidence-based care and ways to measure and improve performance,” said EMS Compass Steering Committee Chair Bob Bass. “You can’t find a better example of that than what has happened on the EMS Compass Technology Developers Group.”
