Management of In-Field Patient Tracking and Triage by Using Near-Field Communication in Mass Casualty Incidents

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Disaster Medicine
• Mobile Technology Applications

Background:

• Disaster management faces challenges in real-time patient tracking.
• Current methods for patient flow management can be inefficient during mass casualty incidents.
• Emerging technologies offer potential solutions for improving emergency response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for real-time patient tracking in disaster scenarios.
• To assess the impact of an NFC-enabled smartphone application on patient management efficacy and accuracy.
• To determine if NFC can clarify patient flow during mass casualty incidents.

Main Methods:

• Development of a smartphone application utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
• Implementation of a table-drill simulation to evaluate the application.
• Assessment of patient management efficacy and accuracy through the drill.

Main Results:

• The NFC-based smartphone app demonstrated significant improvements in patient management.
• Both the efficacy and accuracy of patient tracking were enhanced.
• The technology proved effective in clarifying patient flow during a simulated mass casualty incident.

Conclusions:

• Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is a feasible tool for enhancing patient tracking in disaster management.
• Smartphone-based NFC applications can effectively address the chaos of patient flow during mass casualty incidents.
• This technology offers a promising approach to improve real-time situational awareness and patient care in emergencies.