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Public Safety Communications Articles & Studies
The articles below were all originally printed in the Journal of Emergency Medical
Services (JEMS) and also published on
JEMS.com.
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NOTE: |
The following articles require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not already have it, you can download it
here for free. |
Wireless Broadband Lives!
July 2004 Article in the Journal of
Emergency Medical Services
| Fast, secure, wide
area, wireless broadband is finally starting to arrive in the United
States. The arrival of this fast connectivity will spur renewed
growth in ‘mobile enterprise’ type technologies, especially vertical
markets with far flung personnel and connectivity needs such as EMS.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article |
Copter Box
July 2004 Product Review in the
Journal of Emergency Medical Services
| I recently saw a ‘CopterBox’ demonstration and
immediately saw the usefulness this device could offer the public
safety and emergency management markets for simple, cost effective
aerial supplying of personnel in remote or disaster stricken areas.
CopterBox is the ideal delivery system to provide supplies to people
trapped by flood waters or those stranded by snow or ice.
Click Here to read
the remainder of the review |
Mesh Networks
June 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical
Services
| Mesh networks are
data and voice networks built primarily from off the shelf wireless
computer networking equipment. The idea goes back to research
started in the mid 1990s that was funded by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Department of Defense to
allow for faster, more reliable, and better coverage for voice and
data communications on the battlefield.
Click Here to read
the remainder of the article |
Network Eyes
May 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical
Services.
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How would you like to be able to look
at any of your agencies truck bays, perhaps the ED docks, personnel
parking lots, or other locations close to your operations
facilities? Technology has made this a relatively easy and
inexpensive process to carry out using web cameras (webcams). Many
colleges and small town police departments are adding video
capability using webcam products rather than expensive, traditional
closed circuit television (CCTV) based systems. Webcams aren’t as
capable as their CCTV cousins, but they can perform simple
observation tasks very well.
Click Here to read
the remainder of the article. |
User Authorization: Who's Who?
April 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
One of the most time
consuming and frustrating tasks for an IT manager or database
administrator, not to mention that it is an area with security
exposure, is user password maintenance and administration of user
permissions on the network and data system.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Software Evaluation
March 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
As most people in the
EMS industry recognize, EMS is becoming a data driven business.
There are a number of initiatives underway to define various aspects
of what data points EMS data systems should include. This
data, once collected, can be utilized for operational review,
trending, mapping, quality assurance and improvement, and billing
for reimbursement at the local level.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Don't Let Anyone Take You "Phishing"
February 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
Internet scammers,
hackers, identity thieves, and other online deviants have developed
sophisticated and dangerous new schemes to get unsuspecting people
to reveal their confidential personal and financial information.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Bio-Surveillance Systems
January 2004 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
The prospect of
biological terrorism within the United States has been an issue of
growing concern for the past decade in military and public health
circles and was brought into the public view as a result of the
terror attacks in the fall of 2001. It is widely believed that
by applying various statistical modeling techniques to data such as
emergency department admissions records, school absence reports,
pharmacy sales of cold and flu medications, and many other data
points, early recognition of biological events can be made.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Web-Based Versus Client/Server Data Systems
December 2003 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
This month I want to
take a look at two competing models of database systems and give a
brief overview of the pros and cons of each. The models I
refer to are the newer web-based data collection systems and the
more traditional client/server data collection systems.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Computer, Data Applications, and Data Analysis Competence
November 2003 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
I encounter with
uncomfortable frequency management level personnel in public safety
circles that have little or no understanding with what the private
sector business world considers "must have" knowledge for managers
and administrative personnel; that is, basic understanding and
competence of numerical and statistical analysis tools like the
desktop standard of Microsoft Excel and basic understanding of
database principles and data analysis using desktop standard
software like Microsoft Access.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Homeland Security Mistake
October 2003 Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
With
hundreds of millions of Department of Homeland Security dollars
starting to pour into state and local coffers for hundreds of
different equipment needs and training projects aimed at improving
our national readiness for attack or disaster, I believe we've
overlooked the big picture: communications.
Communications is everything.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Assistive Technologies for the Elderly and
Disabled
September 2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
EMS and home health care
personnel are going to soon start to see high tech products in the
homes of elderly and disabled patients and clients. Several
technology companies including Intel, Honeywell, Raytheon,
Microsoft, and many others are working with research universities
such as MIT to develop unobtrusive technologies that can assist
people in living independently longer while providing real time
information on their activities and health status that can be
monitored by health care professionals or family members.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Global Positioning System & EMS
August 2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
Geographical Information Systems in EMS
July 2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
If you aren't familiar with
Geographical Information Systems (GIS), you should take a look at
what GIS can offer you as an EMS manager. GIS, when combined
with a database that stores response information, can show you in a
matter of seconds things that are hard to conceptualize.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Emergency Messaging & Contingency
Communications
June 2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
There has been a lot of talk
since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, about the need for a
single, more unified protocol communications system that could reach
a myriad of devices (e.g., weather radios, e-mail, voice call
systems, pagers, cellular phones, highway message signs, etc.) to
warn people of terrorist events and provide information on weather
emergencies, hazardous materials incidents, Amber Alert events and
other important messages that directly impact personal or public
safety.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Devices & Methodologies for Capturing Data
May
2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
I believe we're approaching an
interesting era in data capture in EMS. All services capture
data in some form or fashion - most on paper, some electronically.
As demands for electronic filing and the need to improve and
expedite collections mount, more and more EMS systems will move
toward creating or joining data systems.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Email Basics & Options Important to EMS
April 2003
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
Are You Headed For Data Disaster?
December
2002
Article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
If your EMS agency stores patient
and response information in an electronic data system, it is highly
likely that your data can be easily lost, stolen, or misused.
If your data is contained on more than just a single, non-networked
PC, the potential for loss or misappropriation of your data is
exponentially larger.
Click Here to read the remainder of the article. |
Email / Voice Mail Safety & Courtesy Tip
A Simple
Guide to Five Normal Forms in Relational Database Theory
Studies
Usability Analysis of VR Simulation Software
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