MedEx Becomes First U.S. Ambulance Provider To Use Google Glass For Telemedicine
Medical Express Ambulance Service (MedEx), Chicagoland’s leading provider of ambulance and telemedicine services, is now the first in America to use Google Glass to visually connect paramedics in the field directly with doctors. Launched on February 1st with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, MedEx plans to expand the Google Glass program to other area hospitals. Attendees of the 2015 Chicago Auto Show can view the ambulance and a Google Glass demonstration at the Ford Display throughout the event.
With its new Google Glass telemedicine program, MedEx is dramatically improving communications between paramedics and emergency room doctors. Traditionally, paramedics communicate with emergency room physicians via two-way radio or cell phone. Now, with Google Glass, MedEx paramedics are transmitting live audio and video from a MedEx ambulance to a physician, who can receive the Google Glass feed on a tablet, smart phone or desktop computer –providing doctors with critical visual information in order to provide the best possible patient care.
“At MedEx, we work hard to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to equipping our ambulances with the latest innovations,” said MedEx CEO Lauren Rubinson-Morris. “Google Glass is particularly helpful in medical situations involving health risks that require visual assessment for treatment, such as trauma, burns, cardiac arrest, strokes and seizures.”
MedEx is the only ambulance service in the state approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to use Google Glass. The program is being launched with two technologically-advanced Google Glass devices, each recently upgraded with software that allows paramedics to transmit live audio and video to the hospital. Privacy is a top priority for MedEx, and the company has taken special care to comply with HIPAA regulations pertaining to data security and patient privacy. MedEx’s two Google Glass devices operate on an encrypted video platform provided by Pristine Inc. a Texas-based telemedicine software company.
“We’re known for customizing our services, and training and educating MedEx and hospital staff, to meet the specific needs of our hospital partners, and we’re approaching our rollout of Google Glass with this same commitment to excellence,” said Rubinson-Morris. “You’ll never find a cookie-cutter approach with MedEx. We always look for ways to help our partner hospitals to operate more safely and efficiently.”
MedEx leads the ambulance service industry in cutting-edge technology and innovation. It was the first ambulance service in Chicago – and one of the first in the nation – to use Zoll’s computer-aided dispatch software, which integrates on-board computers, GPS/navigation, Zoll E-Series cardiac monitors and electronic patient care reports.
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