Fax machines added to ambulances

With the help of new technology, cardiologists in Columbia are now able to begin diagnosing emergency heart patients before they are even wheeled into the emergency room.

University of Missouri Health Care has equipped its fleet of ambulances with wireless fax modems that allow them to transmit data from an electrocardiogram test to six regional hospitals, cutting the time it takes for the patient to receive treatment.

University Hospital is the first facility in Boone County to use the new cellular-based technology, though Boone Hospital Center is not far behind.

A delay from the manufacturer has temporarily postponed installation, but Bryant Gladney, a supervisor of ambulance services at Boone Hospital Center, expects the delay to be short-lived.

Electrocardiogram tests, also known as an EKG or 12-lead, allow paramedics and physicians to interpret electrical activity in the heart to determine precisely which type of treatment is warranted.

The ability to fax EKG data from the field, usually via a patient’s home phone line, has existed for about a decade.

Receiving this data before the patient arrives at a hospital will save time and potentially lives, says Kul Aggarwal, a cardiologist and MU professor of clinical medicine.

Receiving and analyzing heart data via fax would allow a team to be activated in advance, which could save 15 minutes or more, he said.

Seven of University Health Care’s 10 ambulances, including three backup vehicles, were equipped two weeks ago, and the new modems have lived up to expectations, said Eric Mills, University Hospital supervisor of ambulance services.

“This, so far, has worked out quite well for us,” he said. “There are a lot of times when we have had patients we’ve picked up, and when they arrive at the hospital, they have cardiologists standing there, and they go straight to (treatment), and bypass the emergency room altogether.”