GoodSAM - Smartphone Activated Medic

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• GoodSAM - Smartphone Activated Medic

02 September 2014 | Updated 01 January 1970

From opening an airway to cleaning a cut - basic life support can saves lives or simply prove that a little bit of humanity exists in our cities. In the more extreme cases, if action is taken quickly enough, it can make a real difference. However, getting first aid or paramedic response to patients quickly enough can be difficult. Even in the UK, which has some of the world’s fastest response times, a first responder is on the scene in 8 minutes only 50% of the time. And yet we have a multitude of trained people right under our noses - first aiders who could be called into action if employers and FMs advocate their staff joining in with a new scheme and a new App.

N.B. The scheme also is dependent on the general public downloading the App so that the maximum number of people can act as 'alerters'.

The GoodSAM mobile technology is set to revolutionise immediate medical assistance as it enables the public to alert the nearest first responders to life threatening emergencies. It was launched in Australia earlier this year and although its official UK launch was in April, today (27 Aug) is the first time it comes on stream, starting in London.

GoodSAM comes from Good Samaritan and 'Smartphone Activated Medic'. The GoodSAM mobile technology consists of two Apps - the Alerter App, and the Responder App. In the case of a medical emergency, the patient or bystander can run the Alerter App. The Alerter App automatically locates their geographical position, the on-screen pin can be moved to confirm their exact location and once they are happy with the basic alerting information, they can ‘call for help’. The nearest responder(s) is located and alerted via the GoodSAM Responder App. The responder can choose to accept or reject the call for help. If accepted, the Responder App then guides the responder to the alerter with real time distance updates. The alerter can also exchange messages with the responder, providing them with further information about their location or condition prior to arrival.

Pre-loaded information for the vulnerable

There are many other features of the App that can contribute to better quality emergency care. Registered alerters can input previous medical history data (such as ‘epileptic’ or ‘asthmatic’, or listing allergies), which can facilitate the diagnostic process and appropriate management/treatment pathway. The platform can also notify the patient’s provided emergency contact automatically. The GoodSAM website further describes functions of the GoodSAM App and includes a helpful demo video.

Founders

GoodSAM was founded in the summer of 2013 by two recent London graduates (in the fields of medicine and electronic engineering) and PreHospital Care Specialist and Consultant Neurosurgeon Mark Wilson.

Mark describes the important of those vital minutes following a medical emergency: “If a patient has a cardiac arrest, traumatic heart injury or other acute event, it is the first few minutes after the incident that determine the outcome – life, death or log-term brain injury. But in this time frame, no matter how many paramedics we employ, we simply can’t get to these patients quickly enough."

Get registered

Currently, only registered first responders, doctors, nurses and paramedics can sign on as Good Samaritans, ensuring that all GoodSAM responders are equipped with basic first aid knowledge.

“Since our soft launch, we have received a great interest and overwhelming response from individual first responders and emergency services across the UK and some other countries,” says GoodSAM’s Ali Rezaei Haddad. “We are currently in the process of registering and verifying our first responders across the UK, and carrying out the final tests.

Register here www.goodsamapp.org

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 02 September 2014

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