Brian Schaeffer

Implementing electronic Patient Care Reporting

Brian Schaeffer, Assistant Chief, No Phone Number Available


Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 9:20 a.m.

Implementing electronic Patient Care Reporting

In our constant effort to improve patient care services and public safety, the Spokane Fire Department launched an electronic Patient Care Reporting (ePCR) system on April 7. Replacing a traditional paper report, the ePCR system allows the department to provide rapid, appropriate and timely response based on current conditions in the field.

The City's EMS levy funded the $30,000 to purchase the technology and training from SafetyPad ePCR necessary to implement this system. We are the first department to integrate an electronic Patient Care Reporting system with a Records Management System. This integration lessens our administrative overhead and streamlines our emergency response processes; allowing us to provide top-level service to citizens while saving tax payer dollars.

Electronic reporting can be leveraged to provide detailed analysis of incidents and real-time information that can be sent to key personnel. This allows for a more effective response in emergency medical situations. Efforts are ongoing with local hospital systems to further integrate and share data from the ePCR system and support the larger goal of continuing to improve patient care in Spokane.

More than 86 percent of the incidents that the Spokane Fire Department responded to in 2013 involved Emergency Medical Services (EMS), resulting in more than 20,000 paper patient care reports. Digital reporting will significantly improve organization and access to our records. This will reduce administrative costs and allow us to provide incident analysis, status of reports, and other public records requests to the public with ease.

The ePCR system has been active for nearly a month and it has already begun to improve the patient care we provide. By generating patient reports quickly and accurately in a uniform manner the ePCR system provides real-time incident information that EMS providers can use as an emergency situation progresses. The implementation and integration of ePCR with Records Management is one more innovative step in providing the patient care and public service that Spokane deserves.

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