Audacious Inquiry (Ai) and Surescripts are combining forces to integrate patient medication history data into Ai’s PULSE Enterprise, a platform that allows providers to access medical information for patients in times of emergency.
During emergencies such as hurricanes, pandemics, tornadoes, or terrorist attacks, impacted individuals and their families frequently receive medical care from providers or emergency response personnel outside their typical care network.
PULSE Enterprise is a cloud-based software solution that allows electronic patient data to be viewed by providers in nonroutine healthcare settings such as medical shelters and quarantine sites and to public health authorities performing clinical case augmentation and epidemiological assessments. The application leverages the eHealth Exchange to display patient clinical histories to authorized medical providers in nontraditional healthcare settings, including special needs shelters, mobile field hospitals, and other alternate care sites.
PULSE Enterprise is the latest evolution of a PULSE technical solution first developed by Ai in 2014 in partnership with the California Emergency Medical Services Authority and with funding from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The PULSE platform was also recently adopted by the Texas Health Services Authority and has been used by the state of California in response to the 2020 wildfires.
Ai said that patient medication history data is a critical addition to the product and will bring life-sustaining information to clinical response personnel during declared emergencies. Medication maintenance is one of the most common healthcare needs following disasters, and medication interruption for even a short period of time can be of great risk to people living with chronic conditions. Integration of Surescripts Medication History into PULSE Enterprise will enable emergency response personnel working in non-routine care settings to view patients’ consolidated medication history lists during declared emergencies and reduce the opportunity for medical error or interruption in medication adherence.
“Most physicians already have access to complete and accurate patient medication history data when prescribing or during medication reconciliation,” explained Ryan Hess, vice president of product innovation at Surescripts, in a statement. “However, during a natural disaster or other emergency, care providers need to deliver medications outside of normal care settings, and it could be a matter of life or death for critically ill patients who have been displaced and may have lost their medications or can’t recall their medication list.”
In a press release from Ai, Elise Sweeney Anthony, executive director of ONC’s Office of Policy, said, “Since its inception, the PULSE Initiative has aimed to enable more coordinated and effective care for individuals and communities affected by disasters and public health emergencies by ensuring that appropriately verified users have access to critical, life-sustaining information no matter the setting. ONC is proud to support the PULSE Initiative, and we are excited to see the innovation and growth of private sector PULSE technical solutions like the one developed through the partnership between Audacious Inquiry and Surescripts.”
