The Emergency Medical Team Operating System: design, implementation, and evaluation of a field hospital information management system

In case of sudden-onset disasters (SODs), the World Health Organization deploys specialized emergency medical teams (EMTs); yet, the coordination and operation of such teams pose significant challenges. One issue is the lack of digital information systems and standards. We developed a highly customizable and scalable electronic medical record (EMR) system, tailored to EMT requirements, called the "Emergency Medical Team Operating System" (EOS). EOS was successfully tested through 9 realistic clinical tasks during a full-scale EU Module Exercise. During the initial evaluation, 21 team members from 9 countries evaluated the system positively, stressing the urgent need for an EMR for EMTs. EMTs face unique challenges during disaster relief missions. To provide an effective and coordinated delivery of care, there is a great need for an EMR tailored to the specific needs of EMTs. EOS may serve as an effective EMR during SOD missions. Lay Summary In case of sudden disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis, specialized emergency medical teams (EMTs) are deployed by the World Health Organization to support the affected local healthcare systems. Although electronic medical records (EMRs) are well established in standard care, most EMTs still rely on paper-based patient records despite the benefits of a digital system. This is because it is difficult to accommodate the different needs of different EMTs from different countries, and because the system needs to be effective under the difficult conditions of a disaster. In this article, we present an EMR that is specifically tailored to the needs of EMTs, taking the special conditions of disaster relief missions into account. The article describes design approaches and presents a small evaluation study during a field test, where 21 participants had to perform specific tasks with the system and were able to provide feedback. The results demonstrate the successful use of the system and strong approval among all user types.