July 1, 2008
Thanks to a partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care, BC Ambulance Service is the first Emergency Medical Services agency in the country to use a new type of ECG transmission to alert emergency physicians of incoming patients suffering from ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction, the most time critical type of heart attack.
In May 2008, BCAS Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics in Vancouver began using a modem to send the cardiogram of STEMI patients from the scene directly to the receiving emergency department. Thanks to this new piece of technology, paramedics and emergency room physicians now have the ability to share vital patient information while paramedics are en-route to the hospital. Having the emergency physician see the ECG and confirm a STEMI allows them to alert the cath team and have them standing by and ready when patients arrive, ensuring that these patients have timely access to critical care they need.
Aimed at improving door-to-balloon times, the time a patient waits before receiving balloon angioplasty (the treatment most effective in reducing damage to the heart); STEMI is an excellent example of how BCAS is working with health care partners to improve patient care.
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