This column details EMS related issues that affect FH users. We encourage clients to submit tips and suggestions for future 'EMS Corner' articles.
As one of the primary areas of focus for FH 6, the FH EMS module incorporates a number of new easy to use features designed to increase data entry efficiency. One driving force behind many of these features is the increasing demand for field data entry using laptop, tablet, or hybrid (tablet/laptop) computers. A partial list of 'field data entry' friendly features includes automatic narrative generation, system rules & default values, signature capture, expanded tabbed interface, default medication dosages, auto incrementing and defaulting times for Procedures/Medications/Vitals (P/M/V), a single point of entry for P/M/V, and added integration with FH Staff Scheduling and the staff roster.
Automatic narrative generation is administratively controlled and user definable, providing the user with a starting point for the textual description of an incident or patient care report. The automatic narrative generation feature gathers elements from the incident/patient report, generates a formatted text narrative, then inserts it to the narrative field of the incident or patient care report. FH supplies a sample (default) auto-narrative (CHART method). Additional auto-narratives can be created, customized, copied, and shared. FH 6 also includes an administratively controlled "append only” option for incident or patient narratives to track every change made to a narrative including automatic user/time/date stamp for each modification.
Electronic signature capture gives administrators the ability to create customized signature forms and secure encrypted signatures throughout the EMS module (signature capture is included for other modules, too). Signatures can have user defined requirements and can be used throughout EMS, for example; patient refusals, privacy policy notification acknowledgments, patient approval for billing, authorization to treat, or even to gather staff signatures (for use of controlled medications or specific procedures), or signing off on patient reports. There are many possibilities for signature capture.
The FH 6 EMS procedures, medications, and vitals interface was improved. Along with the restructured vitals form, the ability to set time increments for each P/M/V record, integration with staff, multiple staff per procedure, and the ability to set default values for each medication lookup option, the new P/M/V interface is optimized for easy and efficient P/M/V data entry by providing a single point of entry for each record. To top off the extraordinary versatility of this new interface, FH 6 provides the ability to add/customize unlimited user fields, attachments, and signatures for each P/M/V record.
Although we have made a lot of changes and improvements, we have tried to keep the basic data entry techniques the same. A complete description of the new features in the FH 6 EMS module is overwhelming, but the look and feel of all of these new features is seamless so FH 5 EMS users will easily enter records in FH 6 without additional training.