WINNIPEG February 3, 2006 - Leading edge technology will usher in a new era in emergency patient care in Winnipeg that will save minutes and possibly lives on each emergency call.

The new Electronic Patient Care Reporting (e-PCR) system, expected to be field-tested in early 2007, will replace the cumbersome ‘pen and paper’ documentation system that has been in place in Winnipeg since the 1970s.

"When the difference between life and death is measured in minutes," said Dr. Rob Grierson, Medical Director, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, "we’ve got to keep pace with new technology to ensure we’re doing all we can to improve care and save more lives."

The City of Winnipeg today issued a Request for Proposals seeking a supplier to provide the new system. The contract is expected to be awarded in June, 2006 and cost an estimated $75,000 annually once user fees and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority funding is taken into account.

Within the process of treating an urgent patient, hundreds of decisions are required. An electronic system will:

• Increase focus on patient care by reducing documentation time at every call
• Simplify data entry with prompts on care, procedures & destinations etc.
• Provide real-time patient information
• Assist triage decisions in emergency rooms with easy access to complete, central files
• Ensure central, state of the art security of patient information

"With medical call volumes increasing by nearly 10 per cent a year, anything we can do to improve patient care and ease pressure on our emergency personnel is a priority," said Dr. Grierson. He added that, when introduced, the electronic units will be placed in every ambulance and in fire trucks responding to medical calls.