Uberization of Prehospital Communications—Are We Ready?

Abstract

Contemporary prehospital care systems for cardiovascular emergencies rely on complex communication technologies for daily operation. The rapid care of acutely ill cardiovascular patients depends on effective information transfer among stakeholders across the chain of care. These include the 911 caller, dispatch, first responders, emergency medical services (EMS), and hospital workers. However, the antiquated technologies many systems use to manage medical care in the field are insufficient and surpassed by the technological prowess of ride share services, social media applications, and even national pizza chains. 1 These deficiencies result in inefficient communication in the prehospital-to-hospital chain of care and lead to knowledge compartmentalization among stakeholders who should be seamlessly integrated.Fortunately, technological limitations at the source of these problems are being disrupted, through a process akin to uberization, a business trend by which the development of highly networked systems stimulates new services and fosters more efficient provision of existing services. While these changes hold promise for systemic improvements in emergency care, cardiovascular specialists need to actively plan for their arrival to fully realize their potential.

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