Problems Associated with Patient Care Reports and Transferring Data between Ambulance and Hospitals from the Perspective of Emergency Medical Technicians

While many hospitals have converted to electronic medical records, emergency medical services continue to employ paper-based reports. Furthermore, existing research focuses on challenges of information systems from the perspective of nurses, doctors, and hospitals. Little is known about the paper-based challenges facing emergency medical technicians. This study examined emergency medical technician's paper-based reports for potential problems that may occur if the transferred reports are in an electronic format. Additionally, this study conducted interviews of six emergency medical technicians about perceived benefits from electronic transfer of patient information for transferring patients. Results were positive as the emergency medical technicians liked to see a change from paper to electronic transfer of information. Emergency medical technicians also thought it was difficult to write the report while riding in the back of an ambulance, that information is lost during patient handover, and expressed a desire to follow-up on transferred patients.