A few things to know about managing Handoffs:
- To prepare to request a Handoff, units should be configured in Pulsara Manager by an Admin
- The recipient of the handoff will not receive any confirmation or alert in Pulsara, however, the handoff recipient will see the patient in the patient list once the handoff has been completed.
- The recipient of the patient handoff can view the At Patient Time, Scene Departure Time, and ETA and update other patient information as needed by opening the patient channel.
In order for the correct EMS team members to be added to the patient care team, they must specify their EMS team members and Unit for each shift. This information can be specified on the EMS Shift screen during login or later by opening the side menu and selecting EMS Shift.
To initiate a Patient Handoff, tap the Handoff button located in the Requests section.
On the Handoff sub-screen, select the name of the EMS Agency that will receive the patient. Agencies that have an existing handoff relationship configured in Pulsara will appear on the drop down list.
Tap Done.
Tap the checkbox next to the Unit that will accept the Handoff.
Tap Save in the upper-right corner.
A Confirm Request will appear to share the patient details with the receiving EMS Agency. Tap Share.
EMS Handoffs are automatically accepted in Pulsara as it is assumed the communication of the handoff occurred outside of Pulsara prior to a handoff being performed.
The EMS Teammates on shift and assigned to the selected unit are added to the patient care team and will, as a result, start receiving alerts about the patient. The receiving EMS agency and the new unit will be visible on the Team Alerts screen.
The Requests section of the Patient screen will update to reflect the new EMS Agency transporting the patient and the Handoff button will no longer be visible for the initial agency.
To see the full history of the Patient Transport/Consult, tap on the chevron to expand the records.
The EMS team that received the patient can then find the patient by name on the patient list and open it. After finding the patient the EMS user can then review and set all fields in the EMS area of the screen.
This is an important step for each EMS Team that receives a patient via handoff to ensure the receiving hospital has accurate At Patient, ETA, Departure, Acuity.
The receiving EMS Agency/Unit now has responsibility for the patient and can initiate a Consult or Transport as needed to continue the patient care.
To find out how an EMS agency can recalculate ETA in route to a destination check out how to recalculate ETA.
See the animation below for the process of receiving a patient handoff.
