Expediting Emergency Contact for Car Accidents: Database Will Link Emergency Contact Information with Vehicle ID Number

This article describes a voluntary, nationwide database designed to put emergency contact information for motor vehicle owners in the hands of emergency responders, with the purpose of reducing the time it takes to identify accident victims and notify their emergency contacts. The initiative is part of the Health Information Technology Standards Panel’s work on the American Health Information Community’s emergency responders and electronic health records use case, which is defining the functional components and standards that will provide first responders with pertinent health information on accident victims. The author explains the rationale behind this kind of database and briefly describes two efforts in Florida and Ohio to create the Driver’s License Emergency Contact Database. Early involvement of family or an emergency contact to advocate on behalf of an accident victim and provide additional knowledge, such as pre-existing conditions, medications, and allergies, has the potential to greatly enhance a victim’s chances of survival after an accident. The author describes the proposed database, sponsored by participating automotive manufacturers, that will link an individuals’ emergency contact information to their automobile’s vehicle identification number. When launched, the system will allow consumers purchasing or leasing a motor vehicle from an authorized dealership to voluntarily list a minimum of a name and telephone number for at least one contact person. This system could link together more than 20,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide and more than 500,000 in-vehicle police mobile data devices in the United States and Canada.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/10605487
• Authors:
  • Sweet, David
• Publication Date: 2008-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 54-55
• Serial:
  • Journal of AHIMA
  • Volume: 79
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: American Health Information Management Association
  • ISSN: 1060-5487

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile dealers; Databases; Emergency medical services; Health care services; Information dissemination; Information storage and retrieval systems; Traffic crashes; Vehicle identification numbers
• Identifier Terms: American Health Information Community
• Geographic Terms: Florida; Ohio
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01130691
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 24 2009 7:59AM