What happens inside an ambulance impacts patients, hospitals, and the bottom line. Over half of critically ill patients will arrive by ambulance. These patients are about three times more likely to be admitted, incurring higher costs than other patients and accounting for up to a third of a hospital’s total inpatient cost.^i,ii

Adding to these sobering figures, the transition from pre-hospital to hospital continues to be poor and outdated. For example, in about half of patient transitions, the electronic health record (EHR) did not record a paramedic’s EMS assessment, physical exam, or vital signs.ⁱⁱⁱ It is not hard to understand how emergency departments (EDs) are the fifth-leading setting for medication errors.ⁱⁱⁱⁱ In addition, industry staffing shortages are reported to be the leading risk factor to patient safety, causing significant delays in treatment access, further medical errors, and risks to patient health outcomes.ⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱ

Fragmented data factors into these poor handoffs. Information is typically relayed verbally or on paper, such as handwritten drop sheets. These methods open up the possibility for incomplete, untimely, or worse — details lost in transit. Missing or incomplete data also means that there is a major gap in how hospitals can measure performance and support accreditation.

In a recent webinar, Mario Sanchez, Product Manager, and Pier Stagno, Senior Marketing Manager for ZOLL Data Systems, explored how to improve these handoffs with data interoperability technology, particularly when it comes to improving pre-arrival alerting and collaboration, data transitions from pre-hospital to hospital, and data capture for reporting and improving quality measures. Key interoperability concepts covered include:

• Early alerting. Data interoperability tools reduce surprise arrivals, instead giving hospitals an early alert to the paramedics’ presence and an opportunity to interact with patients in the field and collaborate with EMS for quicker access to treatment. With EMS reports then sent digitally to the EHR, data is readily accessible to the ED in a timely, complete, and accurate manner.
• Care transitions. Data interoperability tools allow for automated data transition between EMS and hospitals that reduces incomplete, untimely, or undocumented data that may be associated with manually written processes. Data regarding pre-hospital interventions such as medications, procedures, narratives, vital signs, assessments, physical examinations, and field observations can be populated automatically into a digital drop sheet for faster diagnosis, reducing future medical error.
• Quality. Data interoperability tools can consolidate the data teams need to measure their performance across care settings for certifications, accreditations, and/or value-based care methods. This measurement of clinical and operational performance during the emergency hand-off process provides feedback to teams for continuous improvement opportunities. The success of any hospital requires this reporting of performance measures as they work to achieve KPIs and adjust as needed.

To learn more about these concepts and the role of EMS-hospital interoperability, watch the webinar, “Partnering With EMS To Improve Performance.”

ⁱAugustine, James. Emergency Medical Services Arrivals, Admission Rates to the Emergency Department Analyzed, https://www.acepnow.com/article/emergency-medical-services-arrivals-admission-rates-emergency-department-analyzed/. Accessed 3 March 2025.
ⁱⁱHCUP Statistical Briefs - Hospitalizations Overview, https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb_hospoverview.jsp. Accessed 3 March 2025.
ⁱⁱⁱTroyer, Lindsay and Brady, William. Barriers to effective EMS to emergency department information transfer at patient handover: A systematic review, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32321683/. Accessed 3 March 2025.
ⁱⁱⁱⁱKukielka, Elizabeth and Jones, Rebecca. Medication Safety in the Emergency Department: A Study of Serious Medication Errors Reported by 101 Hospitals From 2011 to 2020, https://patientsafetyj.com/article/73462. Accessed 3 March 2025.
ⁱⁱⁱⁱⁱECRI Special Report. Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2022, https://assets.ecri.org/PDF/Solutions/Patient-Safety-Organization/ECRI-Top-10-Patient-Safety-Concerns-2022-Special-Report.pdf. Accessed 3 March 2025.