As part of his studies at Karolinska Institutet, Ortivus co-worker Per Kjell have presented a thesis titled “Prehospital triage & patientstyrning inom ambulanssjukvården” (prehospital triage and patient logistics within ambulance care).
The thesis (in Swedish with abstract in English) gives a background to triage, a state-of-the art overview, a deeper analysis of the methods primarily used in Sweden (METTS and ADAPT), and a model for how these methods may be applied within Ortivus pre-hospital eHealth platform MobiMed.
(English Abstract)
Prehospital triage & clinical pathways within the ambulance health care
Overview in Sweden and application possibilities with the eHealth system MobiMed
Can the problem of overcrowded emergency departments be solved as well as
the danger to the patients this means?
In Swedish emergency departments the process-based triage systems, METTS
and ADAPT, are used to sort patients. With the support of these systems the
patients are cared for by severity. METTS and ADAPT have also begun to be
used in ambulances so that sorting is done before arrival at the emergency
department. "Lean Healthcare” with doctors in the front line is another way to
solve the problem.
Can you achieve more when there are triage tools available? Do all patients have
to go to the emergency department? Can they be transported to the right
healthcare provider directly?
Decision support guidelines will vary by age and region. Guidelines need to be
updated and made available. Other caregivers may need to use the information,
e.g. at home care.
Instead of paper based support, can this be done using computer support, where
information is stored electronically so other caregivers can have access to the
information?
Through literature studies, observations and interviews, the author examined
how the triage of patients could be achieved through an interface prototype for
evaluation.
The results of the pre-study show that the MobiMed system has the potential to
realize prehospital triage and clinical pathways with computer support.
Download Thesis (In Swedish with Engish abstract)