Optimizing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Through the Use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Technologies
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations can greatly benefit from the integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies into the transportation system's infrastructure and the emergency vehicles themselves. From simple emergency notification systems to sophisticated dynamic routing algorithms for expedited incident response, ITS provides enormous capabilities to improve the efficiency of EMS operations and optimize the use of healthcare resources. The expected benefits from this synergy are tremendous for the healthcare sector, the transportation sector, and the public. These include better information flows between emergency response agencies, improved incident response time, enhanced efficiency and productivity of healthcare delivery, reduced congestion and environmental impacts of traffic, improved mobility and safety for all transportation users, and enhanced customer satisfaction. This research project will investigate needs and opportunities associated with the use of ITS as a tool for improving healthcare delivery practices during routine as well as emergency operations. More specifically the study will examine in depth ITS technologies and transportation management strategies to: 1) optimize deployment of healthcare resources through optimal positioning of first responders within the transportation grid and implementation of urgency algorithms to facilitate Computer-Aided Dispatching (CAD) of ambulances; 2) mitigate non-recurrent incident induced congestion and its impacts on EMS responders and the general public. Emphasis will be placed on the use of ITS systems capable of collecting, managing, and utilizing real time data to facilitate quick and efficient incident clearance and service restoration while minimizing the risk of secondary crashes. Use of active traffic management strategies (such as temporary shoulder lanes) and traffic signal preemption to allow quick access of first responders to the emergency site and/or the treatment facility will be also considered; and 3) optimize the use of healthcare resources to improve surge capactiy under routine operations as well as manmade, natural, or public health disasters. ITS technologies can be used to communicate information about available resources at medical facilities and guide emergency vehicles through the transportation network using dynamic route planning and diversion algorithms.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $120000.00
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Contract Numbers:
DTRT12GUTC12
A0-UTC-064
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Sponsor Organizations:
Florida Department of Transportation
605 Suwannee Street
Tallahassee, FL United States 32399-0450Alabama Department of Transportation
1409 Coliseum Boulevard
Montgomery, AL United States 36130-3050Research and Innovative Technology Administration
University Transportation Centers Program
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Performing Organizations:
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
1075 13th Street South
Birmingham, AL United States 35294Florida International University
Miami, FL United States -
Principal Investigators:
Sullivan, Andrew
Hadi, Mohammed
- Start Date: 20121004
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 20141231
- Source Data: RiP Project 33614
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Emergency medical services; Emergency response time; Emergency vehicles; Health care services; Incident management; Intelligent transportation systems; Real time information; Technological innovations; Traffic congestion
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01640971
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: National Center for Transportation Systems Productivity and Management
- Contract Numbers: DTRT12GUTC12, A0-UTC-064
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Jul 14 2017 1:01AM