As the hub for coordinating emergency responses for patients, the dispatch communications (“comms”) center plays an invaluable role in patient care. To get resources out as quickly and efficiently as possible, dispatchers need to be multitasking magicians who must understand the nature of a patient’s problem, the level of service they require, and how to set up crews for success. Not to mention, dispatchers need to constantly follow up with their units to understand their proximity, status, and if there is any traffic, construction, or other crucial factors holding them up.

Making the appropriate decisions, tracking units, constantly receiving updates from crews, and fielding new calls are all a part of a dispatcher’s most important role: effective resource management. However, managing all these resources primarily through the radio means that dispatchers often contend with a noisy and chaotic comms center. Relying primarily on the radio may cause unintended consequences, including:

• Human error in response — Dispatchers can sometimes mishear an ambulance number, a timestamp, or misinterpret another key factor that can lead to deploying the wrong unit.
• Inconsistent data management — In the heat of the moment, there is potential to capture incomplete data that causes crews to miss out on key information en route.
• Need for constant updates from crews — Without constant follow up over the radio, dispatchers may not know if one of their crews is en route, on scene, or if there are any safety issues or other concerns holding them up. While keeping track of several other units, and new calls coming in by the minute, this can create stress for overworked dispatchers.
• Overloading a lean staff — Staff shortages affect both dispatchers and crews, and EMS agencies are constantly being tasked with doing more with less. Both teams have a heavy workload, and the more they must relay through the radio, the more mouse clicks or data touchpoints they may be forced to make, wasting time and resulting in potentially delayed responses.

These issues caused by a reliance on radio communications can have downstream effects on an agency’s revenue, dispatchers’ performance metrics, and may even create low staff morale.

Reducing the Noise and Minimizing the Chatter

“Voiceless” communication in a comms center comes into play when dispatchers don’t have to communicate every detail verbally over the radio. They can use computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software with the capability to automatically assign and quickly communicate trip information to crews from a map-centric fleet monitoring view.

This software provides an easier way for dispatchers and crews to capture and exchange much of the critical assignment data, including destination addresses, patient statuses, and other fluid details about the situation. Situational awareness drastically reduces the guesswork associated with both assigning the best crew and monitoring the status of each crew, providing more improved decision making for dispatchers.

CAD software can even integrate into ePCR charting and billing software or to mobile data terminals (MDTs) to share demographics, medications, and other key data between systems quickly and easily. Collecting all this comprehensive data can mitigate a lot of the common issues associated with excessive radio chatter in the comms center. Dispatchers can then be freed up to use the radio for more critical problem solving, including verbally communicating clarifications, discrepancies, safety concerns, or other developing emergencies that take priority.

Intelligent CAD Solutions Can Mean Faster, More Effective Response

By taking advantage of voiceless communication, dispatch resource management can be streamlined for a more effective workflow. If your agency wants to reduce the number of human errors, improve timestamp accuracy, or just reduce miscommunications, then a best-in-class CAD solution, such as ZOLL Dispatch, may be right for you. It can provide many benefits for comms centers, including:

• Minimized response delays
• Real-time candidate ranking to help rapidly identify the right resource for the call
• Simplified fleet monitoring via real-time map that provides better at-post decision making
• Integration with charting and billing software to help improve clinical, operational, and financial performance
• ZOLL Respond iOS and Android MDT companion apps that enable crews to send and receive crucial data from any mobile device

Quickly and effectively getting the right care out to patients with as little effort and as much accuracy as possible remains a constant challenge. While the radio may never be replaced, CAD solutions can help filter out the chatter and distractions to focus on the more critical conversations that should be happening over the radio.