CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) — When it comes to medical emergencies every second count and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center is at the forefront of the newest technology when it comes to saving seconds and saving lives.
It’s called the Pulsara app. Chesapeake Regional is the first hospital in Hampton Roads and the second in the state to use it.
Starting the first week of January, the Pulsara app will be on the phones of all Chesapeake, Currituck, Pasquotank-Camden and Navy Regional EMTs.
“What the Pulsara app allows us to do is notify the hospital extremely early that we are bringing somebody in,” said Thomas Schwalenberg, with the Chesapeake Fire Department.
In the past notification of an incoming patient by ambulance was relayed to the hospital over the radio, and that message was then passed on down the line.
“So if you think about the telephone game, ‘so I tell a friend, I tell a friend, I tell a friend,’ the message changes right, there are gaps in the communication, things get misconstrued,” said Schwalenberg.
The Pulsara app makes sure all parties at the hospital are getting the most accurate, updated information at the same time.
"So those gaps in communication where those medical errors can happen it makes a seamless process to eliminate those errors,” said Schwalenberg.
"We can all see the same pieces of information coming from the field and that will make a clearer picture for us to make the best decision for our patients as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Dr. Lewis Siegel with the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.
For instance, if a patient is suffering a heart attack the cardiologist is in the loop from the very beginning, or if a patient was shot, a physician can already have an idea of what type of wound to expect before the patient is even on the operating table.
“If we want to show the physician at the hospital a picture of the patient we have the ability to do that,” said Schwalenberg.
All information being passed back and forth between ambulance and hospital is protected under the law.
“This is a HIPAA secure process, nothing is stored on any devices, there isn’t any medical information that anybody retains, it all is in a HIPAA secure environment,” Said Schwalenberg.
The Pulsara app costs around $150,000 and was made possible through funding by the Chesapeake Regional Health Foundation.
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