"Intelligent" ICT-Enabled EMS: Eclipse of the "Golden Hour"

Abstract

The past twenty years have witnessed the implementation of various mechanical and information/communication technologies (ICT). Together, they are minimizing traumatic vehicular morbidity and mortality and upgrading substantially the efficacy of out-of-hospital emergency care. To date, these technologies are often deployed independently, rather than in an integrated "system". If they were deployed as an "intelligent suite", with all components cross-compatible, EMS of the near future would be dramatically more effective than that of the recent past. The present analysis is a synopsis of a 1990 motor vehicle accident reconstructed from actual EMS run data. A hypothetical comparative call has been constructed, set in similar fashion but integrating currently-available ICT components. Deploying today's ICT arsenal as a coherent system results in dramatically decreased dispatch, en route, and response times, and blurs the distinction between the need for transport and the need for adequate medical treatment. The significance of the legendary "golden hour" is effectively eclipsed.