Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare deployed a mobile application called Twiage to connect emergency departments with first responders in the field.
Twiage is a mobile app for first responders to contact and have two-way communication with the ED at Peoria-based OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center. It also allows users to input vital patient information such as identification, the type of emergency the patient is experiencing and what medical interventions are taking place.
"In our situation, if a specific order is needed for an inbound unit then those individuals have to contact a physician, the physician would then answer the telephone and then have to talk to the unit in that fashion," said Matthew Jackson, MD, Emergency Medical Services Medical Director for Peoria EMS and emergency physician with OSF Saint Francis. "It's like playing the telephone game; you have to have handoff after handoff to make that connection occur."
Twiage lets first responders snap pictures of accidents or collect video of emergencies to demonstrate the extent of each emergency situation. The app seeks to improve the quality of and access to patient data coming into the ED. Both physicians and nurses have access to Twiage on their computers.
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