Responding to Crisis in an Age of Modern Technology: The Future is Now
Telehealth Awareness Week Blog
Technology has transformed our lives in ways unthinkable from only a generation ago. Mobile phones and applications coupled with high-speed internet has given way to a new kind of globalization in which information can be shared instantaneously anywhere and everywhere.
For instance, the COVID crisis has shined a light on how quickly society can adapt to changing circumstances. Telemedicine quickly replaced in-person medical and mental health appointments, giving patients and doctors a lifeline to continue critical care.
Recently, the conversation surrounding the future telehealth has reached a fever pitch. Both health providers and patients are urging governments – local and national – to continue to support telemedicine even after COVID no longer prevents patients from visiting doctors in person.
Why? Because this direct-to-consumer adaptation of care is often less onerous on both the medical provider and the patient – and even in a true medical crisis, mobile personal emergency response (MPERS) provides the most reliable information to emergency personnel.
But, against the backdrop of the benefits of telehealth and, more broadly, the benefits of technological advances, Big Tech has been put on notice that they must do more and do better with respect to consumer privacy. Unlike others in the space, emCall has found a way to empower people in life-or-death situations while never compromising their privacy.
Our patented mobile personal emergency response app puts life-saving response at one’s fingertips. In an emergency, there is no time to think about who – or how – to call. That’s why emCall was designed with two simple buttons – one for medical help and one for police help. Three quick taps on the appropriate button will instantly initiate a process that can literally save one’s life.
But something else very important will happen. emCall’s patented Medical Information Transfer Screen (MITS) – which includes a patient’s medical conditions, prescriptions, allergies and more becomes immediately and readily available for first responders to review, contributing to a dramatic reduction in the time it takes first responders to diagnose a problem and begin treating it effectively.
This information is stored on a secure server, never on one’s phone. This unique solution points to the fact that technology can protect people in every sense of the word. Health data can be a powerful and useful tool when used correctly.
From millennials who want to keep track of their young children’s allergies in case of an anaphylactic episode to Gen X’rs who want to protect their Gen Z children when they head off to college to Baby Boomers who want peace of mind for themselves and their children so that they can age in place by relying on technology to ensure they receive quick medical attention, anyone at any stage of life can and will benefit from emCall.
As technology becomes more and more ubiquitous and new health applications continue to proliferate, we must be sure that they are making our lives better, safer and more efficient. With each generation, technology becomes more integral to our lives, and it is the job of those who create new technologies to continue to improve the quality of those applications to ensure that they are solving problems, not creating new ones.
The American Telehealth Association (ATA) should be commended for the important role you are playing to drive that conversation forward.
About the Author
Marsha Newman, Founder and CEO, AMP LLC
With over 30 years of experience in the perimeter security and emergency response systems industry, Marsha, started her career in safety technology as Co-Founder and President of ACI alongside her late husband, Co-Founder, and CEO Fred Newman.
Alongside Fred, who passed away in February 2020, Marsha established AMP to solve the problems associated with people experiencing medical and personal emergencies and the lack of information and automation that exists with current systems. By focusing on saving people’s lives through smartphone technology and automating the entire communication and response process with precise user information, the emCall platform was born.
