The 2011 Alabama Association of Rescue Squads (AARS) Conference concluded in Decatur, Alabama on November 12th. This was one of the best attended and sponsored conferences in recent history.
It was my pleasure to represent Falcon Direct at this conference with a late arrival by our founder. Burch has an incredible new system installed in his vehicle which we call MedTRAX. In essence, it is a military grade laptop computer using a wireless internet connection through a Verizon mobile Wi-Fi hot spot module.
We were able to view Burch's progress as he traveled to Decatur on I-65. We were able to see his exact location, his speed, and even the view through the windshield, just as if we were riding along with him! The system has some significant benefits for patient transport vehicle since it can handle multiple cameras and send live streaming video over the Internet to a password enabled web connected PC.
One camera can be in the patient transport area for live viewing by ER doctors, another on the driver for administrative purposes, and still another for litigation protection. Burch doesn't need a cell phone since he uses low cost Magic Jack service through Bluetooth. He has live Internet access, email, GPS and everything you would expect to find in a modern office. The difference is that his office is MOBILE! He can prepare reports directly from the vehicle, process credit cards with an optional card swiper and print invoices with a mobile printer. And get this - His mobile PC has an i5 processor, it's waterproof, and it is covered by a 3 year warranty that has NO exemptions! If you drop it in the street and it's run over by a runaway garbage truck, it's covered under warranty!
He doesn't need a 2-way radio since he has a mobile software application that allows him to communicate with any Internet connected radio system directly from his mobile laptop and he has a pair of digital portable radios that provide him with mobile intercom and/or on-scene communications in complete compliance with HIPAA regulations.
