Emergency calls via real-time video telephony: simulation study examines benefits and challenges

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Rescue coordination center staff are often faced with the challenge of callers being unable to describe an emergency situation precisely - but technological progress is opening up new avenues: thanks to smartphones and modern software, real-time video emergency calls are now possible, allowing dispatchers to literally get a picture of the emergency themselves and thus better support first responders. The advantages and challenges of this technology are being examined in a simulation study that is currently being carried out in a Viennese shopping center.

To date, individual studies have investigated the possibility of a video emergency call for guided lay resuscitation and have shown that the quality of resuscitation measures can be significantly improved in this way. However, the effects of real-time video emergency calls on the duration of the call, the correct description of the medical emergency, but also the acceptance of this technology by both first responders and control center staff are not yet known. Questions such as these are to be clarified in a simulation study - a cooperation between the Vienna Professional Rescue Service, the PULS association, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Digital Health and Patient Safety and the Medical University of Vienna.

Over the course of the five-day study period, 20 control center employees will each receive two simulated video and audio emergency calls, which will be made by 80 volunteer study participants. The pre-defined emergencies are simulated by professional actors. A web-based application is provided for the video emergency calls (FlagMii EML from Regola, a Frequentis Group company). "With more than 1,000 emergency calls received by the Vienna Emergency Medical Services control center every day, efficient processing is important in order to provide first responders with the best possible support and at the same time make optimal use of the rescue service’s resources. Telemedicine solutions can support both the first responders and the control centre staff," emphasizes Christina Hafner, specialist at the Department of General Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy at the Medical University of Vienna and head of the ’Telemedicine in Rescue Services’ research group at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Digital Health and Patient Safety.

"For us, what the first responders say during the conversation with the control centre is essential - additional information is essential for us and can literally save lives," emphasizes Mario Krammel, Chief Physician of the Vienna Professional Rescue Service. "With the use of technical possibilities such as real-time video, this input can be further improved, which of course also has an impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the assistance provided."

"This study is also an important step for the field of resuscitation," says Sebastian Schnaubelt, Managing President of the PULS association. "This is because the probability of survival decreases by ten percent per minute in the event of a cardiac arrest, and the first irreparable damage to the brain occurs after around three minutes. Being able to raise the quality of resuscitation with video telephony is essential - at the same time, it can also help to overcome people’s fears - because one thing is clear: doing nothing is wrong. As the PULS association, our main concern is to fight against sudden cardiac death. Using all the possibilities, especially modern technologies, is absolutely the right way to do this."

The simulation study was carried out in September and October 2024 in the Q19 shopping center in Vienna-Döbling. The results are being analyzed using scientific methods and will be published in a specialist journal in the coming months.