Video instruction for dispatch-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Two steps forward and one step back!*:

Video calls from lay bystanders to dispatch centers - risk assessment of information security

BACKGROUND

Video calls from mobile phones can improve communication during medical emergencies. Lay bystanders can be instructed and supervised by health professionals at Emergency Medical Communication Centers. Before implementation of video mobile calls in emergencies, issues of information security should be addressed.

METHODS

Information security was assessed for risk, based on the information security standard ISO/IEC 27005:2008. A multi-professional team used structured brainstorming to find threats to the information security aspects confidentiality, quality, integrity, and availability.

RESULTS

Twenty security threats of different risk levels were identified and analyzed. Solutions were proposed to reduce the risk level.

CONCLUSIONS

Given proper implementation, we found no risks to information security that would advocate against the use of video calls between lay bystanders and Emergency Medical Communication Centers. The identified threats should be used as input to formal requirements when planning and implementing video calls from mobile phones for these call centers.

Using tele-education to train civilian physicians in an area of active conflict: certifying Iraqi physicians in Pediatric Advanced Life Support from the United States

Years of violence have resulted in a lack of trained health care providers in Iraq. To address this need, International Medical Corps has implemented a national emergency care program for the country. As part of this program, we implemented via tele-education the country's first civilian course in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Video calls for dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation can improve the confidence of lay rescuers – surveys after simulated cardiac arrest

Many mobile phones allow two-way video communication, which permits callers to hear and see each other. If used during medical emergencies, bystanders can receive supervision and guidance from medical staff based on visual information. We investigated whether video calls from mobile phones could improve the confidence of lay rescuers. High school students ( n = 180) were randomly assigned in groups of three to communicate via video calls or via ordinary mobile phone calls. They received realtime guidance from experienced nurse dispatchers at an emergency medical dispatch centre during 10-min scenarios of simulated cardiac arrest. Each student answered a questionnaire to assess understanding, confidence and usefulness of the technology. The mean age was 17.3 years in the video group and 17.9 years in the audio group. There were 27% male participants in the video group and 34% male participants in the audio group. Seventy-three percent of the students in the video group and 71% in the audio group reported previous cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Rescuers who had not used video phones had a greater tendency to comment on immature video call technology, while some who had used video phones complained about poor sound quality during video calls. The majority of rescuers in both groups believed that video calls were superior to audio calls during medical emergencies, and this proportion was significantly higher in the video group ( P = 0.0002). We found that visual contact and supervision through video calls improved rescuers' confidence in stressful emergencies.