Emergency Department Outcome Data Implementation Project

A needs assessment/feasibility study funded by the State EMS Authority concluded that, in order to evaluate EMS systems including Emergency Departments (ED) in Santa Barbara County, it is necessary to collect key data on treatment and outcomes for patients utilizing the system.

During this project, the Santa Barbara EMS agency will implement and facilitate a task force comprised of representatives from all hospitals in the county. This task force will endeavor to adopt the Center of Disease Control guidelines for standardized emergency department data and establish a three-tiered data set to be implemented in three phases over a mutually agreed upon time period. Also, the task force will define uniform criteria for patient inclusion that separates patients based on system access (including outpatients, clinics, urgent care, emergencies, observation and direct admits). Further, the task force will research state and/or national guidelines for minimum and recommended data that includes standards for prehospital, emergency, and trauma data that facilitate data comparison both locally and nationwide.

As part of any quality improvement program, the data collection system will become an added tool for the ongoing development of a quality improvement program. Finally, base hospital staff, local EMS Agency staff, and the local EMS Agency Medical Director will be better able to identify areas to focus quality improvement activities.

This project will enable a quantum leap of progress in standardizing data with neighboring EMS agencies. A review of existing data systems for potential improvements and capacity for standardization between local agencies is integral to the sharing of information that is desperately needed on a state-wide basis.

The seven objectives for this project are as follows:

Objective #1: Enter into a partnership with hospitals in Santa Barbara County that establishes a win/win strategy to help hospitals improve patient care while helping the local EMS agency to improve public health.

Objective #2: Develop a Request for Proposal to implement the proposed system that offers hospitals and the local EMS agency the opportunity to compare products and services, including a pre-proposal vendor conference prior to actual procurement of a system.

Objective #3: Implement a micro-computer-based EMS information system that balances features and cost by 'layering' existing hospital mainframe and mini-computer systems with an EMS microcomputer system.

Objective #4: Adopt the CDC guidelines for standardized emergency department data and establish a three-tiered data set to be implemented in three phases over a mutually agreed upon time period.

Objective #5: Define uniform criteria for patient inclusion that separates patients based on system access (including outpatients, clinics, urgent care, emergencies, observation and direct admits).

Objective #6: Research state and/or national guidelines for minimum and recommended data that includes standards for prehospital, emergency, and trauma data that facilitate data comparison both locally and nationwide.

Objective #7: Conduct a feasibility study on standardizing data with neighboring EMS agencies including:Identification of potential data elements, field definitions, and systems.A review of existing data systems for potential improvements and capacity for standardizationResearching the potential for website use for combined EMS agency utilization.