Smartphone transmission of ECGs improves heart attack treatment
A program that uses smartphones to transmit ECGs from the ambulance to the University Hospital in Newark, N.J., has demonstrated improved patient outcomes.
The program, called STAT-MI, enables hospital-based physicians to view ECG readings on their smartphones within 90 seconds of transmission by the EMT. If the cardiologist verifies that the patient is having a heart attack, the patient is brought directly to the cath lab, bypassing the emergency room.
While STAT-MI has been in existence for only a short time, its has already been shown to decrease patients' time to treatment by as much as 131 minutes. Patients treated through the service have smaller heart attacks, shorter hospital stays and lower death rates, according to the Foundation of University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).
Twelve ambulances from the University Hospital Emergency Medical Service are outfitted with STAT-MI technology.
The program recently received a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, bringing Verizon's funding of the program to $100,000. The STAT-MI program also received seed funding from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.
The program, called STAT-MI, enables hospital-based physicians to view ECG readings on their smartphones within 90 seconds of transmission by the EMT. If the cardiologist verifies that the patient is having a heart attack, the patient is brought directly to the cath lab, bypassing the emergency room.
While STAT-MI has been in existence for only a short time, its has already been shown to decrease patients' time to treatment by as much as 131 minutes. Patients treated through the service have smaller heart attacks, shorter hospital stays and lower death rates, according to the Foundation of University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).
Twelve ambulances from the University Hospital Emergency Medical Service are outfitted with STAT-MI technology.
The program recently received a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, bringing Verizon's funding of the program to $100,000. The STAT-MI program also received seed funding from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.