FEMA Introduces App For Emergencies

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

A new patient tracker app is being incorporated into the training for emergency first responders.

A new patient tracking app is being used by FEMA in cases of emergencies. The software, compatible with mobile devices, is a “key component” to FEMA’s emergency response and management.

According to Fierce Mobile Healthcare and GCN, the mobile tracking systems enable rapid identification of patients as they move from a point of injury, through the stages of a disaster response, to a hospital’s treatment area.

“We’re incorporating software that can be used on a majority of smart devices found on the commercial market today,” said Jesse Giddens, CDP’s healthcare training manager. “These devices allow students to input and record emergency casualty care data into an automated patient tracking system.”

“Emergency responders, regardless of their profession – healthcare, fire, law enforcement – have a variety of new or modern tools and equipment,” said Mick Castillo, the technology integration coordinator at the CDP.

Emergency responders can use barcodes on triage tags to track patients through a specific number and make sure they are properly identified. When their number is scanned, a patient’s information is displayed, including name, age, gender, symptoms, injuries, and treatments, as well as a picture.

“Patient tracking is one of those technologies that allows the healthcare community and other responders to manage mass casualty incidents in a comprehensive way, providing situational awareness, coordination of supporting agencies and accountability of patients and resources in an integrated response,” Castillo said.