Emergency medical coordination using a web platform: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
To describe a management system for emergency medical coordination based on the worldwide web of computers.


METHODS
The emergency coordination system was developed according to an evolving software model for prototype development. Communication between users and the system was implemented by means of web technologies. The system was developed on a personal homepage and the database was developed using MySQL. The prototype was based on the medical coordination process of the Thirteenth Regional Healthcare Division of the State of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) and was applied to 26 municipalities within this regional division, for four consecutive weeks in September 2009. The system made it possible to document requests in chronological order, without allowing editing of data already entered, and ensured hierarchical confidential access to the information for each participant in the system.


RESULTS
The system presented 100% availability, reliability and integrity of information. A total of 1,046 requests were made to the system, of which 703 (68%) were completed. The solicitants already presented 98% adherence to the system in the first week of application, while adherence among service providers gradually increased (37% in the fourth week). The municipalities closest to Ribeirão Preto that did not have high-complexity providers were the ones that most used the system.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical coordination of emergency requests through the worldwide web of computers was shown to be feasible and reliable, and it enabled transparency within the process and direct access to information for managers. It allowed indicators to be constructed in order to monitor and improve the process, from the perspective of creating semi-automated coordination and advances in system organization.
Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
Mário Sérgio
MS
Adolfi Júnior
Fábio Marcon
FM
Pallini
Hugo
H
Pessotti
Cláudia Maria
CM
Wolf
Hélio Tabajara
HT
Patelli
Ronaldo Dias
RD
Capeli
Omero Benedicto
OB
Poli-Neto
Fábio Fernandes
FF
Neves
Sandro
S
Scarpelini
Paulo Mazzoncini de Azevedo
PM
Marques
Antonio
A
Pazin-Filho
D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014584:User-Computer Interface