Maine EMS mandated all services use some NEMSIS Gold standard software. They have gotten Federal grant money that allowed services (mine included) to buy toughbooks with Imagetrend for $1000. I do not 3.8 but 4.0+ was a mess. I used it at another service and the medics made so much noise about suckage that we went back to 3.8. We will have to make the jump to whatever version they have now in April as they will stop supporting it. I like it enough. It is much faster if you make up some templates and as you build your database the pre-population feature is cool. Hopefully they figure out how to make the jot pad stay viewable.
Patient Care Reports - Paper or Electronic
- Thread starter Chimpie
- Start date
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
- 6,226
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electronic all the way. slight learning curve for the older providers, but people's handwriting sucks, especially in the back of the truck. and in the rain, paper charts suck. and signatures suck on the back of PCRs due to carbon copying. plus the ER can access the chart with you not being here.
paper charts can be completed quicker than electronic ones, and tend to be cheaper, but the advantages of electronic charting (esp when implemented properly, with wireless aircards built into toughbooks and all signatures signed on the computer) far surpass paper ones.
paper charts can be completed quicker than electronic ones, and tend to be cheaper, but the advantages of electronic charting (esp when implemented properly, with wireless aircards built into toughbooks and all signatures signed on the computer) far surpass paper ones.
Zoll electronic PCR
We have just started using the Zoll tablet PCR and it SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. Lost data, lost PCR's, won't take inputs, their so-called 'dispatch' isn't much help. It's not a run sheet, it's data entry for billing. Already today it has ****ed me. No place for a refusal, either. It SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS.
We have just started using the Zoll tablet PCR and it SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. Lost data, lost PCR's, won't take inputs, their so-called 'dispatch' isn't much help. It's not a run sheet, it's data entry for billing. Already today it has ****ed me. No place for a refusal, either. It SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS.
Meursault
Organic Mechanic
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Toughbook with Zoll ePCR. I don't recall the version, but I haven't experienced many of the issues people are complaining about here. It semi-regularly fails to get a license or recognize a connection, but no data is lost and the problem is usually resolved quickly. The lack of proper refusals is a bit annoying.
I'd dread work if I had to write out each report, particularly with the tiny narrative section my service gives us.
I'd dread work if I had to write out each report, particularly with the tiny narrative section my service gives us.
thegreypilgrim
Forum Asst. Chief
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We still use an antediluvian carbon-copy paper chart that hasn't been significantly altered since the Reagan administration. It's nice in the sense that I'm basically finished with my paperwork before we even get to wherever we're going, but that's about the only benefit. The carbon copies are of horrendous quality - if I were a doc or nurse at the receiving facility and only had our "red copy" of the chart to reference I'd just as soon start from scratch (which I'm sure they do). Plus I hate having my hand cramp up from writing, and the bumpiness of the ride isn't exactly helpful in producing a legible chart.
There are all kinds of rumblings about switching to Toughbooks with the Zoll RescueNet system, and even though I've heard terrible things about it I'd much rather have an ePCR system than the old hand-written ones.
There are all kinds of rumblings about switching to Toughbooks with the Zoll RescueNet system, and even though I've heard terrible things about it I'd much rather have an ePCR system than the old hand-written ones.