The Tasmanian Ambulance Service in a partnership with HealthConnect Tasmania has rolled out rugged Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 and CF-18 notebooks across its team of paramedics and clinical support officers.
The Service is responsible for some of the most remote and
rugged terrain in Australia, with the paramedic teams operating
from ambulances, fixed wing aircraft and a rescue helicopter.
The Toughbook runs the VACIS electronic patient care record
system. When assisting a patient, paramedics make a record of
symptoms and other patient details as well as treatment they have
given. The Toughbook also holds information to assist paramedics
such as clinical practice guidelines.
Lisa Wilson, ePCR project manager for Tasmanian Ambulance, said
that the Toughbook had a number of features vital to the remote and
demanding environment the paramedics operate in.
"We needed wireless NextG capability, as well as the backlit,
waterproof keyboard. The screen and keyboard have to be visible and
accessible in bad weather, and any time day or night. The Toughbook
also has to withstand constant vibration in the back of an
ambulance which the fitted printers, that have sustained some
damage, are unable to do."
The Toughbook's suite of features to support constant operation
in extreme environments includes a magnesium alloy case and sealed
keyboard and ports for dust and water resistance, with the ability
to withstand drops, shocks, vibration and extremes of temperature.
For outdoor readability, it has a bright 550 Nit screen with a
low-reflection coating.
Lisa Wilson added: "Access to VACIS and resources such as
the eMIMS medical database also allow paramedics to do a more
efficient job. Our goal is to use VACIS to enhance patient care by
improving information processing and auditing cases to measure
performance and to assist paramedics in improving their
skills."
Tasmanian Ambulance will use VACIS to gain greater insights into
individual paramedics' case experience to determine what
professional development they need. The software will also allow
them to break down all cases by type, and fine-tune the focus of
their overall training program.
The Service currently has 70 Toughbooks and plans to increase
the number as it upgrades its branch station infrastructure in the
coming year. Stations that previously had one paramedic will also
be upgraded to have rotating day and night crews, with new
Toughbooks to be allocated per station.
Tasmania is a popular State for car and bike rallies, and
additional Toughbooks will also be provided for emergency services
support at these events.
Features that Tasmanian Ambulance hopes to introduce in the
future include NextG transfer of VACIS information in the field so
that, for example, case information collected by a helicopter
rescue crew using a Toughbook can be transferred automatically for
use by the ambulance paramedics who meet them.
A dispatch system will also allow drivers to click on the way to
their next case and access information collected by the State-wide
Command and Control Centre. In addition, Tasmanian Ambulance is
looking at mounting a solution in ambulances that includes a
Toughbook 'workstation' at the rear and a second screen at the
front. The officers will be able to use GPS software to help
provide directions in the emergency response to calls - which is
very important in the middle of the night in rural areas that are
poorly lit, or may have one postcode over a very wide area, making
locations difficult to find quickly using traditional maps.