Objective: With the development of information technology, real-time telemetry has been invented for checking patients' physiologic parameters during their transport, via an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system. We developed a Real-Time Telemetry System (RTS), which sends physiologic parameters including electrocardiogram (ECG), vital signs, and pulse asymmetry in real-time from the ambulance to a hospital through the Emergency Medical Information Center, a kind of central control unit. Therefore, we asked whether the RTS monitoring affects the use of medical direction in EMS system.
Methods: Of six ambulance stations covering EMS transport with RTS monitor, 941 patients who were classified as emergency patients by an Emergency Medical Technician were retrospectively enrolled in this study. We divided them into two groups: group 1 (the patients using RTS monitoring) and group 2 (control group).
Results: The mean age was 53.5 ± 22.8 years, and 494 patients were men. RTS monitoring was used in 118 (20%) patients. Medical direction for treatments in group 1 was much more than that of group 2 (8.0% vs. 0.3%; p <0.001). Ambulance diversion to proper hospitals in group 1 was much more than that of group 2 (14.4% vs. 0.1%; p <0.001). The mean treatment time at the scene in group 1 also decreased more significantly than that of group 2 (4.4 ± 3.5 min vs. 6.3 ± 5.9 min; p <0.001).
Conclusion: The results showed that intermediate medical direction in the cases using the RTS was conducted more than in the conventional method-ambulance to the hospital. These results suggest that the RTS monitoring enhances the quality in developing EMS system.