Westech’s Pen System Answers Emergencies

Vertical Focus

Computers and automation technology have become commonplace in a wide range of white-collar professions, often because the nature of the work places relatively moderate demands on these systems.

However, this is not the case for a group of activities where computer technology must follow the worker out into the field. In this way, stylus-based computing has assumed an even more daunting challenge that, in many ways, it alone may be capable of solving.

Perhaps, one of the most trying of these tasks is emergency medical response, which encompasses all the activities from the time the emergency call is dispatched to the emergency room at the hospital.

Westech to the Rescue

Westech Information Systems Inc., a Vancouver, British Columbia-based company, has taken on this challenge with its EMS System. Westech started designing the system in December 1992 when the company was contracted to create an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Emergency Room system for the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and the British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS).

The VGH, one of British Columbia’s largest hospitals, and the BCAS, which provides emergency service for the largest geographic area in North America, had three main goals:

• increase the accuracy and completeness of the patient data
• enable data capture at the time and location of the emergency event
• improve the communication of this patient information among care givers

Today, the system is either in place or in trial at 33 customer sites across North America. In the case of the BCAS, the system is currently in the pilot phase.

On-the-spot Data Capture

The access to accurate and timely information is a critical part of delivering quality emergency care. Westech’s EMS System enables members of the paramedic crew to record the most important information at the trauma scene, for later use by the emergency room specialists at the hospital. This information includes:

• patient demographics, including name, address, birth date, etc.
• patient assessment, including state of consciousness, condition of head, neck, chest, along with blood loss, cardiovascular system, central nervous systems, and others.
• medical history, including past history, current medications, known allergies, and the circumstances of the current injury or illness.
• vital signs, including blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature, and others.
• treatment provided, including IVs administered, medications, oxygen, and transportation details.
• trauma and scene details
• information about the crew and the particular call, including information to help future billing.

The Advantages

Westech’s EMS System was designed to replace a myriad of paper forms that made finding and communicating critical information difficult. The system was also designed to reduce the amount of time required to complete the documentation for each call.

Using a graphical interface developed with PenRight! Corporation’s PenRight! Pro operating environment, and originally running on GRiD Convertible and PalmPAD SL pen computers, the system facilitates the capture of the crucial data, while providing important on-the-spot error checking and data validation.

Nowadays, Westech prefers IBM 730T and Fujitsu 325Point pen tablets as the platforms of choice. In addition, Westech has developed a system by which paramedics will be able to gather medical and personal information by “swiping” a magnetic health card through a portable reader.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the Trauma Team in the emergency room also uses a pen-based system to record the vital signs and other medical information at the patient’s bedside. The information coming from the paramedics is downloaded to an emergency room computer, which then displays both sets of data simultaneously so all members of the team using an overhead monitor.

Other Advantages

In addition to helping provide better healthcare, the system is also instrumental in helping to solve the often overwhelming administrative burden. For example, at the end of each shift, certain portions of the collected data are uploaded to an information system responsible for billing and other related functions.

The system is also capable of processing the collected data for the purpose of printing standard reports, where required by state or provincial regulatory authorities, as is the case in Florida for example. The data collected also provides valuable information in cases where health providers must testify in court. The system, for example, is capable of capturing a patient’s signature in cases where treatment is refused.

Emerging Technologies at Westech

Westech is a leading information system developer in Canada with a staff of over 240 consultants. The company’s history dates back over 30 years when it was a division within B.C. Hydro. Since then, it was spun-off as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 1989, and an employee-owned private company in 1991.

The Emerging Technologies group within the company develops a range of applications for mobile workers using pen computing technology, along with radio frequency, and cellular communications. The Westech EMS System, described in this article, is composed of three parts, including a paramedic field system, an administrative system, and a management reporting system.

Westech Information Systems Inc.
9th Floor, 1045 Howe Street
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6Z 2B1
(604) 663-3550
(604) 663-3554 (fax)