necessity of usage mobile and wireless communication systems in hospital disasters

introduction: current communication and information management systems first rely on paper and radio communications for identifying histories and tracking damaged people in times of crisis. these traditional systems have significant limitations in times of crisis. one of the most important of these limitations is that paper based systems make a static and fixed in place information repository which doesn’t allow information sharing among decision makers, managers and providers. therefore, in times of crisis, lack of appropriate access to needed information causes providing inappropriate, weak and low quality services. modern information technologies have high potential to overcome physical limitations of static and fixed in place information systems (1-3). many wireless information systems (such as: wireless communication networks, patient’s location and position tracking electronic systems, patient care electronic devices with the ability to adapt with electronic health record, medical communications backup systems, and systems to exchange information with treatment centers) have been developed for using in medicine which can promote information and communication channels and increase medical care quality in times of crisis. in this regard, the research results entitled “wireless internet information system for medical response to disasters: wiisard” by national health institution of america regarding studying the role of advanced technologies in medical disasters showed that information technology can be developed and quickly accepted by providers in short time. additionally, such technologies improve identifying patient, their location and documentation without delay or interruption (that is based on radio communications). they also can distribute information in real time among providers and among hospital emergency units too (4). besides, buono et al. from california university in 2007 in their study entitled “comparison of the effectiveness of wireless electronic tracking devices versus traditional paper systems to track victims in a large scale disaster” mentioned that in places where wireless internet information systems were used for opposing wit medical disasters, for 40 victims reporting on patients’ location was significantly (82%) better than paper based traditional tracking system (32%) (5). finally, grasso in their study in 2006 entitled “handheld computer application for medical disaster management” said that in case of medical disasters, mobile computerized systems can develop medical staff communication with other treatment groups. this system can manage information related to patient’s clinical status and information related to threatening people who have been exposed to biological, chemical, or other dangerous factors. this system also allows staff to have communication with headquarter of care team from everywhere and send clinical data and messages (6).   conclusion: it is recommended that crisis management groups improve their abilities (especially about providing communication support) when events happen. they also should consider secure wireless and mobile communication systems and equipment in communication channels for making continuous communications so that they can use these systems which have higher dynamism and flexibility than traditional systems and thus provide possibility of exchanging information ideally among crisis management group and all those involved in crisis. references chan t, griswold w, buono c, kirsh d, lyon j, killeen j. et al. impact of wireless electronic medical record system on the quality of patient documentation by emergency field responders during a disaster mass casualty exercise. pre-hospital and disaster medicine 2011; 26: 268- 75. ajami s, lamoochi p. applying telemedicine during disasters. j inform tech soft engg 2013;(s7):e005. ajami s. the role of earthquake information management system to reduce destruction in disasters with earthquake approach. in dr. john tiefenbacher, editor, approaches to disaster management - examining the implications of hazards, emergencies and disasters. croatia: intech; 2013. pp.131-44. available from:  http://www.intechopen.com/books/approaches-to-disaster-management-examining-the-implications-of-hazards-emergencies-and-disasters. doi.org/10.5772/53612. gao t, white d. a next generation electronic triage to aid mass casualty emergency medical response. conf proc ieee eng med biolsoc 2006; suppl: 6501-4. buono cj, chan tc, killeen j, huang r, brown s, liu f, etal. comparison of the effectiveness of wireless electronic tracking devices versus traditional paper systems to track victims in a large scale disaster. amia annu symp proc 2007:886. grasso am. handheld computer application for medical disaster management. amia annusymp proc 2006:932.