Electronic SBAR Tool Integrating Pre-Hospital Data Into EMR
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients transported via emergency vehicles often have fractured information that does not directly communicate to electronic medical records (EMRs), and there is a lack of an integrated electronic Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) tool accessible via a tablet platform, leading to inefficiencies in treatment and reimbursement.
Innovation Solution
An electronic SBAR tool is provided to guide clinicians in gathering demographic and encounter information, which is communicated in transit to a healthcare facility and integrated into the EMR, including ancillary information that affects transport time and resource allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If information is captured during emergency vehicle transport, then patient encounter data is collected, but the information remains fractured and does not communicate to electronic medical records
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the SBAR tool, demographic information collection, encounter information gathering, and EMR integration into a single unified electronic system accessible via tablet devices in emergency vehicles. This merging eliminates the fragmentation of information across separate systems and ensures seamless communication to the EMR.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic SBAR tool serves multiple functions: collecting demographic information, documenting encounter details, communicating with healthcare facilities during transit, and integrating with EMR systems. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems while comprehensive information capture.
2Productivity
If an electronic SBAR tool is integrated into the EMR, then communication efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by collecting and organizing all necessary patient information (demographic and encounter data) during transport before arrival at the healthcare facility. This preliminary data preparation enables efficient communication and reduces the workload upon patient arrival.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic SBAR tool acts as an intermediary between the emergency vehicle environment and the healthcare facility's EMR system. It facilitates seamless data transmission and integration, bridging the gap between pre-hospital and in-hospital care systems while maintaining communication efficiency.
3Loss of time
If demographic and encounter information is communicated during transit, then treatment preparation is improved, but communication protocols must be established
Solution Approach 1:
The system communicates demographic and encounter information during vehicle transit to the healthcare facility, enabling the receiving facility to prepare appropriate treatment resources and personnel before patient arrival. This preliminary communication eliminates delays in treatment preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated electronic SBAR tool establishes bidirectional communication protocols between the emergency vehicle and healthcare facility, allowing for real-time feedback regarding patient status, resource availability, and treatment preparation. This feedback mechanism ensures efficient coordination while managing communication complexity.
4Productivity
If ancillary information is integrated into the EMR, then resource allocation is optimized, but data management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges ancillary information (such as transport time, weather conditions, traffic data) with core patient demographic and encounter information in a single integrated data structure. This unified approach enables comprehensive resource allocation decisions while managing data complexity through systematic organization.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, computer systems, and computer storage media are provided for integrating pre-hospital encounters into an electronic medical record (EMR). An electronic Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) tool is provided that guides a clinician to gather demographic information and encounter information. The demographic information associated with one or more patients is received via the SBAR tool. The encounter information is received via the SBAR tool. At least a portion of the demographic information and the encounter information is communicated via the SBAR tool, while in transit via an emergency vehicle, to a healthcare facility. The demographic information and the encounter information are integrated into an EMR associated with each patient.