Pulsara’s ED Availability Feature: Matching EMS Demand with Hospital Supply

What if EMS could “see into the future," having access to critical details about a hospital's ED availability status—such as whether it was at capacity during a mass casualty event or whether its CT scanner was down—before they even reached the hospital? If EMS knew a hospital's ED availability ahead of time, they could quickly reroute their patients to the closest alternative available care, saving precious time for patients and care teams.

They can!

Pulsara feature highlight: ED Availability.

With this feature, healthcare facilities and EMS agencies can access ED Availability information directly from the platform. Specifically, critical details about a hospital’s capability to accept patients can be easily updated by each facility and will appear to EMS and Ambulance crews when choosing a destination. This means improved decision-making for EMS and faster, more efficient care for patients in their most critical moments. 

When EMS providers start a new patient case in Pulsara and go to select their destination, they'll not only be able to see the available facilities in their area—they'll also be able to see the hospital's emergency department availability status, updated in real time by the facility. 

ED Availability allows healthcare facilities to post status updates about their Emergency Department's availability directly to the Pulsara platform. Hospitals that enable ED Availability can update their status in a matter of seconds by switching out their icon and/or adding a brief comment. Read on to learn more!

Invaluable and Timely Insights = Better Patient Care

This feature gives EMS teams insight into which facilities have space and resources to accept the patient and which facilities are on divert, right from the same menu they use to select their destination. By providing this crucial information to EMS teams ahead of time, they'll be able to make quick decisions that will ultimately mean faster care for patients. 

Mitigating Patient Surges & Hospital Strain

During stress events, ED Availability can help medics navigate the complex field of hospital availability. By knowing which hospitals have enough space or the right resources available to treat their patient, EMS can more efficiently navigate patient surges and hospital strain.

Availability Status With Custom Notes

Hospitals will also be able to add a brief note to provide more transparency. If a facility is in the middle of a mass casualty or stress event, they will be able to include a note to EMS. Or, if a critical resource, like the CT scanner, is down at a facility, they can note it alongside their status, allowing EMS to make more informed decisions based on their patient's specific needs. 

Preserving EMS Unit Utilization Hours

ED Availability helps prevent further crowding an already overwhelmed facility. Medics can save time for their patients by verifying a facility’s ability to accept their patients before spending time driving there, getting the patient the best available care more quickly. This also saves time for EMS crews, assisting medics in preserving EMS unit utilization hours. Higher utilization translates to lower costs per transport and higher efficiency for all teams involved. 

Fitting Naturally into Existing Workflows

Pulsara's ED Availability feature fits naturally into EMS teams’ existing Pulsara workflows. Medics will be able to view these real-time availability insights on the same menu that they select a destination for their patient. The list can also be viewed directly from the main menu — no need to navigate to another screen or platform. The value and ease of this information for medics incentivizes hospitals to keep their status up to date.

Here at Pulsara, our goal is to give our customers as much transparency as possible in the decisions they make on behalf of their patients. We want to provide the best data available to guide EMS decisions within their current workflows, mitigate surge for ED departments during large-scale emergencies, and help connect patients with the closest available care in any emergency. Our hope is that ED Availability will provide EMS/ambulance agencies and hospitals alike with an easier way to communicate with one another to improve patient care. 

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in March 2022 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Click here to learn more about our ED Availability feature.