Reduction in Interfacility Transfer Response Time after Implementation of an AutoLaunch Protocol.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare logistics and emergency medical services.
• Patient transport and transfer protocols.
• Quality improvement in healthcare systems.

Background:

• Interfacility transfers (IFTs) are crucial for patient care, necessitating timely ambulance response.
• Delays in IFTs can impede patients from receiving timely medical attention.
• Current IFT procedures require optimization to enhance efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an AutoLaunch protocol on IFT ambulance response times.
• To determine if dispatching ambulances prior to patient acceptance reduces delays.
• To analyze the frequency and duration of ambulance staging during IFTs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 1,881 IFTs between October 2018 and September 2019.
• Comparison of IFT response times under traditional versus AutoLaunch protocols.
• Analysis of dispatch logs and transport records to measure response and staging times.

Main Results:

• The AutoLaunch protocol reduced median IFT response time from 27.5 to 19.9 minutes (27.6% decrease).
• A total of 7.6 minutes were saved per transfer on average.
• Ambulances staged in 21.6% of AutoLaunch transfers, with a median staging time of 10.1 minutes.

Conclusions:

• The AutoLaunch protocol significantly decreases ambulance response times for IFTs.
• This protocol streamlines patient transfers, potentially improving access to care.
• Further research is warranted to link reduced response times to patient outcomes.