Virginia Beach paramedics to adopt electronic records

Starting at noon today, if everything goes as planned, Virginia Beach 's medics will ditch paper medical records and go digital.

That means that instead of approaching sick or injured patients with a clipboard and pen, they'll take along a Toughbook laptop and enter all of their information using a keyboard or stylus.

The launch will conclude more than two years of work by the Department of Emergency Medical Services to research, fund and start its electronic medical records project. The hope is to cut down on filing costs, improve the accuracy of information gathered about patients and their care, and allow the EMS department to better track and evaluate its performance, said EMS Division Chief Tom Green, who spearheaded the effort.

The new system, which runs on software created by the Minnesota-based company ImageTrend Inc., also links with the Sentara hospitals, EMS Chief Bruce Edwards said. The partnership will allow paramedics to send patient information to the emergency room before they arrive, giving doctors more time to prepare. For example, in cardiac cases, they can send heart monitor readings.

The program cost nearly $1 million, including subscribing to the ImageTrend system for five years and buying 54 Toughbooks, Green said. The city's Department of Communications and Information Technology paid for half, and the rest was funded through grants and Sentara, he said.

Since mid-May, the EMS department has trained nearly 600 people, mostly volunteers, to use the new system.

"Everyone has been taking to it much easier than what I'd anticipated," said EMS Capt. Christi Budy, one of the instructors. "I haven't heard anyone grumble about it."

During a training session Saturday morning, volunteer medic Sonya Wood practiced entering vitals into the system and marking injuries on a three-dimensional image of a patient.

"I think it's great. It's pretty easy to use and it takes up less time," she said. "We can get this done quicker so we can continue helping people."

But some struggled a little, like volunteer medic Dionna Collins.

"It's a little confusing," she said. But "once I get used to it, I think it's going to be pretty awesome."

Other cities' EMS departments have also transitioned to electronic records, including Norfolk and Chesapeake, Green said. But Virginia Beach's system will be unique in how it tracks patient outcomes and uses the information to train and improve, he said.

"We've partnered with Sentara to actually follow our patients all the way through the hospital," Green said. "We're able to track patient outcome and alter the way we deliver care on the street."

The system will also have some extra perks, such as helping keep track of patients' property, like jewelry and false teeth, EMS recruiter Susan Baust said.

"This happens a lot," she said. "People tend to lose their false teeth."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com