Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services recently became the first ambulance service with the ability to access electrocardiogram (EKG) records from a patient’s hospital medical files. This comes two years after Indianapolis EMS ambulances became the first EMS agency to be equipped with electronic medical record technology that allows paramedics and emergency medical technicians to obtain a patient’s in hospital medical record which may contain vital patient health history, while in the field. “This technology that allows us to look up EKG records will help us improve the quality of care, increasing efficiency of health care delivery, and is key for our paramedics and EMTs on the street to have as much key information about a patient’s medical history as possible,” said Dr. Charles Miramonti, chief of Indianapolis EMS. All Indianapolis EMS units have a computer in the ambulance that allows them to capture patient information in real time. This information also allows them to look up patients who have been transported by ambulances in the past by accessing both previous EMS records and hospital medical records. “Some hospitals in other cities do send EKGs from ambulances ahead to the Emergency Department. We can do that but our emergency medicine docs and cardiologists trust our medics to make the right call without sending the EKG ahead to them. But we are the first, to our knowledge, to be able to look up in-hospital EKG’s in the field,” said Tom Arkins, chief of information technology and informatics for Indianapolis EMS. The technology used by Indianapolis EMS’ record system that links the EMS medical record system with the in-hospital record system, the first of its kind in the world, was developed by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute in collaboration with the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis EMS and MedUSA Corp. “The addition of EKG access by medics offers yet another important tool for our first responders when arriving on the scene of an emergency,” Dr. Miramonti said. Indianapolis is home to one of the oldest and largest ambulance services in the United States. Indianapolis EMS provides the 911 emergency ambulance service to areas inside the historic city limits, Franklin Township and the Town of Speedway (previously served by Wishard), Warren and Washington Townships (previously served by Indianapolis Fire Department), and Lawrence Township (previously served by Lawrence Township Fire Department). It staffs a fleet of 48 advanced life-support ambulances that are strategically placed throughout Marion County, 32 of which are in operation at any given time and respond to nearly 100,000 calls for help annually. Indianapolis EMS ambulances have been at the forefront of technology for the past 125 years when the first ambulance from City Hospital began carrying sick and injured patients. In 1943, Wishard (then City Hospital) became the first hospital in the country to use two-way radio communication to coordinate ambulance dispatch. This pioneering communication tool made it possible for the hospital’s ambulances to alert the receiving ward about the patient’s illness or injury en route, improving patient care. Indianapolis EMS was formed in 2010 as a partnership between the City of Indianapolis and Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County (HHC), with Wishard as the supervising hospital. IEMS operates as a division of the Department of Public Safety and was formed via unification of Wishard and Indianapolis Fire Department EMS services. The service benefits from medical leadership in quality, education, training and research from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the years of experience of providing emergency service both from IFD and Wishard.
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