Patients coming to emergency departments (ED) are initially seen by the physician on duty who then decides which specialist doctors to call for each patient. The specialist doctor is then informed on phone regarding the patient and asked to come to the ED. This takes up valuable time in the ED where every second counts. Sometimes, the concerned doctor cannot be reached due to connectivity issues further delaying patient management. In a first in India, as soon as ED physician evaluates the patient, an automated sms is sent to concerned doctor(s) with the patient details and urgency of attending the call

1. D R D E E P A K A G R A W A L
H E A D I T & A S S O C P R O F N E U R O S U R G E R Y
J P N A T R A U M A C E N T R E
A L L I N D I A I N S T I T U T E O F M E D I C A L
S C I E N C E S
N E W D E L H I
Automated SMS system in Emergency
Department for Improving patient care
& accountability

2. Background
 Patients in emergency
departments (ED) are
initially seen by the
physician on duty who
then decides which
specialist doctors to call
for each patient.

3.  The specialist doctor is then
informed on phone regarding the
patient and asked to come to the
ED.
 This takes up valuable time in the
ED where every second counts.

4.  Sometimes, the concerned
doctor cannot be reached
due to connectivity issues
further delaying patient
management

5. Initiative
 In a first in India, as soon as ED physician evaluates
the patient, an automated sms is sent to concerned
doctor(s) with the patient details and urgency of
attending the call.

6.  SCREENCAST 1
 Automated sending of sms

7.  SCREENCAST 2 (Manual SMS sending)

8.  Advantages
 reporting of average time taken by each
doctor to see patients
 sms sent to higher authority if concerned
doctor does not arrive in the time
specified
 patient details populated in the sms in an
automated manner
 sms sent only to the required doctors and
not to all doctors
 Instant Automated sms to the specialist
doctor on duty on assessment by primary
physician

9. Challanges
 Maintaining an up to date daily database of doctors on
call was challenging
 Regulatory limits on daily sms cap was also a challange
which was overcome using multiple sms cards
 Selecting and configuring open source sms gateway was a
challenge which was finally overcome
 Increased accountability bought on by the system did not
go down well with some doctors
 Doctors were initially unhappy as they were receiving lot
of sms's

10.  Conclusion
 The automated SMS system in Emergency
Department for Improving patient care &
accountability has been a the success
 This should be standard of care in all Emergency
departments across the globe