INTELLIGENT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SYSTEM SIMULATION - IEMS(3)

THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF MERGING AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) SIMULATOR WITH GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) IN ORDER TO PRODUCE IEMS(3) (INTELLIGENT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SYSTEMS SIMULATOR), A PC-BASED SYSTEM WHICH CAN BE USED FOR BOTH ADDRESSING STRATEGIC PLANNING ISSUES OF EMS SYSTEMS (E.G., SYSTEM CONFIGURATION; VEHICLE LOCATION) AND THE TACTICAL ISSUES CONCERNED WITH VEHICLE DISPATCHING, ROUTING AND RE-ROUTING IN A DYNAMIC MANNER. THE SIMULATOR WILL BE BASED ON RURALISM, A COMPREHENSIVE COMPUTER SIMULATION MODEL DEVELOPED BY THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH UNDER FUNDING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THE COMPLETED IEMS(3) WILL PROVIDE PLANNERS AND PRE-HOSPITAL CARE MANAGER WITH A DECISION AID TO: 1) CAPTURE AND REPRESENT PATIENT, VEHICLE AND INFORMATION FLOWS IN A WELL-ORGANIZED MANNER; 2) IDENTIFY, THROUGH SIMULATION, BOTH PRESENT AND POTENTIAL "BOTTLENECKS" IN THE EMS PROCESS; 3) ANALYZE QUANTITATIVELY THE VARIOUS ALTERNATIVES FOR ALLEVIATING THESE "BOTTLENECKS", AND 4) BY LINKING TO A GIS AND ADDING RULE-BASED SOFTWARE, CREATE AN ADVANCED COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCHING SYSTEM.