Magen David Adom, Israel’s National Emergency Medical Service operates mobile intensive care units (MICUs) and ambulances. While the response times are consistently improving, in particular thanks to first responders on a wide range of response vehicles, MDA is always striving to improve further, both in response times and with regards to patient treatment.
Technology has been in place for some time that allows dispatchers in MDA’s emergency 101 emergency call center to receive live videos and images from the scene, allowing for clearer understanding of the situation. This is facilitated either by using a dedicated MDA app called MyMDA, or by being sent a link from the dispatch center to the caller’s smartphone that can then be pressed and opens up a direct link to the call center. Through either of these systems, the pictures or videos are not saved onto the phone itself, but only in the dispatch system.
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As opposed to many EMS organizations, MDA call takers and dispatchers are trained EMTs or paramedics, and all have some level of field experience. They are able to use this field experience, along with the live images from the scene in order to paint a clearer picture of the event. However, the vast majority of these staff members have only limited field experience, as opposed to the front-line crews.
In this latest academic research from Magen David Adom, led by Dr. Roman Sonkin and Dr. Eli Jaffe, in conjunction with Dr. Oren Wacht and Dr. Yuval Bitan of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, shows the benefits of taking the video conferencing one step further. Using advanced technology, and allowing the paramedics on route to the call to hold a video-conference call with someone on the scene, allows them to begin assessment and even treatment remotely, prior to arrival on scene, by having a much clearer understanding of the situation and advising bystanders in life-saving techniques. It also allows the EMS team that is on route to the call to be better prepared for the event that they are about to face.
The research pointed to the fact that paramedics were very highly skilled in identifying the nature of the emergency from a video call. The findings show that direct video communication between paramedic and scene may facilitate correct diagnosis, provision of instructions for treatment, and early preparation of medications or equipment.
These may decrease time to correct diagnosis and lifesaving treatment and impact patient morbidity and mortality. Moreover, the findings highlight the difference between incidents with higher visual clarity, such as trauma, and conditions that require an extended diagnosis to reveal, such as unresponsive patients. This may also increase the paramedics’ mental preparedness for what is expected at the scene, which in turn can help build resilience among EMS teams, and assist in preventing negative reactions to difficult or traumatic scenes.
