California ambulances will now be connected to the state’s nonprofit health data network, Manifest MedEx (MX), thanks to a $4.9 million grant awarded by the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to facilitate health information exchange between emergency ambulance service providers and hospitals.
Grant Details
MX will work together with six local EMS agencies, 13 EMS providers, and 16 hospitals to cover eight counties and more than 7.6 million Californians following the Office of the National Coordinator’s model for Search, Alert, File, Reconcile (SAFR) capabilities under this grant. Data-informed emergency care in the field, real-time notification to hospitals of incoming patients, and seamless data transfer between electronic patient care records and hospital electronic health records (EHRs) are some of the important benefits this grant will enable. Starting with a two-year program, this work is designed to create capabilities that can be scaled to other California communities in the future.
More than 400 healthcare organizations in California are currently participants in Manifest MedEx, including recent additions of Health Net, Scripps Health, and AHMC Healthcare. The network delivers real-time notifications of hospital admit, discharge, transfer (ADT) activity as well as up to seven years of searchable medical record history to help healthcare leaders improve patient care and reduce costs.
“Ambulance service is an incredibly critical point for patient communication,” said Erica Galvez, Chief Strategy Officer of Manifest MedEx. “On transport, patients may be unconscious and unable to communicate their serious allergies and medical history details. On arrival to the emergency department, providers need access to details from paramedics to act safely and quickly. Manifest MedEx is honored to be selected by EMSA as a trusted partner for seamlessly delivering life-saving health information when California patients are at their most vulnerable.”
Hospitals interested in joining Manifest MedEx should consider acting quickly in order to take advantage of the nonprofit’s special $60,000 bonus for participants that sign on before May 31, 2019, as part of the statewide Cal-HOP program.
