The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance have partnered to advance interoperable communications between first responders and to facilitate the sharing of electronic health records, Health Data Management reports. COMCARE is a national advocacy group promoting the advancement of emergency response.
The HIMSS/COMCARE Emergency Response Advisory Board will oversee initiatives to encourage the creation of software systems that allow 911 dispatchers, first responders, hospitals and other providers to share patient information.
The partnership's goals include integrating emergency records with patients' health records and getting important patient data from those records to emergency personnel, Health Data Management reports (Health Data Management, 10/15).
Jack Potter, vice chair of COMCARE, said current EHRs "do not include important emergency treatment data, and emergency responders cannot access a patient's medical history, whether during a disaster or for a routine call." He said that until information is connected, patients "will not be getting the best possible care."
A five-member panel of emergency response leaders will discuss the efforts at a session at the HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo on Nov. 7 (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 10/15).