As wildfires disrupt life for thousands of Californians, Audacious Inquiry (Ai) and the nonprofit Sequoia Project have restated their commitment to the PULSE (Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies) initiative and to leverage their combined expertise in support of displaced populations needing medical treatment and ongoing care as part of disaster response efforts.
Ai first developed the PULSE concept under contract with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) in April 2014. In March 2016, the California Emergency Management Services Authority (CalEMSA) contracted with Ai to develop and operate PULSE.
PULSE was subsequently activated for use during the California wildfires in October 2017, with the support of The Sequoia Project. The nonprofit, which was recently named the recognized coordinating entity for TEFCA, works to advance the breadth of PULSE by leveraging national networks and by convening a national advisory council of experts.
During a disaster, patients are often transported out of the affected area and away from their usual health care provider system. One of the fundamental lessons learned during Hurricane Katrina was that health professionals need access to patient health information to avoid medical errors, renew medications, and coordinate care.
The PULSE project has enabled connections between community health information organizations (HIOs) or health systems via a secure web portal. When a disaster happens, the web portal is activated so authorized healthcare professionals can access patient records from outside their own health systems through their existing electronic health record system or through a secure website.
Maryland-based Audacious Inquiry worked with the California Association of Health Information Exchanges (CAHIE) and ONC for several years to define the PULSE California use case and technical specification for the system.
Through this agreement, Ai and The Sequoia Project said they would continue to work together to expand PULSE to other regions. Ai remains focused on product development, state and regional partnerships, implementation and roll-out, and ongoing operations. Sequoia will help coordinate PULSE connectivity to other health information networks, provide program support and support education and outreach. Sequoia also facilitates the PULSE Advisory Council made up of subject matter experts in disaster preparedness and response, emergency medical services, and health information exchange, who will advise on PULSE’s coordinated, national roll-out.
“Ultimately, PULSE can be made available in any geographic area,” said Scott Afzal, president of Audacious Inquiry, in a statement. “By forming this agreement, Audacious Inquiry and The Sequoia Project are demonstrating our commitment to ensuring that qualified healthcare professionals and emergency responders have rapid and secure access to health records as they care for displaced populations during and after disasters.”
