title: Supporting information use and retention of pre-hospital information during trauma resuscitation: a qualitative study of pre-hospital communications and information needs.
abstract: Pre-hospital communication is a critical first step towards ensuring efficient management of critically injured patients during trauma resuscitation. Information about incoming patients received from the field and en route serves a critical role in helping emergency medical teams prepare for patient care. Despite many efforts, inefficiencies persist. In this paper, we examine the pre-hospital communications between pre-hospital and hospital providers, including the types of information transferred during en-route calls, as well as the information needs of trauma teams. Our findings show that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams report a great deal of information from the field, most of which match the needs of trauma teams. We discuss design implications for a computerized system to support the use and retention of pre-hospital information during trauma resuscitation.
authors.affiliation: College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarcevic
authors.affiliation: Emergency Trauma & Burn Services, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Randall S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Burd
mesh_terms: D003201:Computers; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004631:Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians; D006801:Humans; D008490:Medical Informatics; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012151:Resuscitation; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*