Term of Award
Fall 2017
Degree Name
Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License
Committee Chair
Hayden Wimmer
Committee Member 1
Lei Chen
Committee Member 2
Chung-Yean Chiang
Abstract
Many hospitals have switched to electronic records but emergency medical services continue to use some paper-based reports. Ambulances that have electronic-based systems use them only internally because they are not integrated with hospitals’ systems. This study investigated problems with paper-based, computer-based reports, and transferring patients and their information from an ambulance to the emergency department. Emergency medical technicians were interviewed using qualitative methods. After coding and analyzing their answers, results showed that all emergency medical technicians would like to see a change from paper to electronic transfer of information and that it was difficult to write the report while riding in the back of an ambulance. Following the outcomes of first part of the study, a quantitative study was performed. An electronic version of paper report was created and first responders took a survey on differences between the paper and electronic form. Results showed that electronic version is better for collecting the information, delivering it to the hospital and easier to complete. Implementations of this work could make collecting information easier and faster and improve patient care. In the future, this electronic patient care report could integrate with hospitals’ information systems which would reduce patient handover time.
Recommended Citation
Cuk, Smiljana, "Investigating Problems Associated with Patient Care Reports and Transferring Data Between Ambulance and Hospitals from the Perspective of Emergency Medical Technicians" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1663.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1663
Research Data and Supplementary Material
Yes
