Street Sense

The Cause:
In 2008 the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department created a case management system focused on helping to redirect individuals who repeatedly access 9-1-1.  These individuals who normally reach out to 9-1-1 for help in most cases suffer from chronic medical diseases, in-home difficulties, drug and alcohol dependence, psychiatric disorders and homelessness.  With the ability to track, predict and re-direct these repeat callers to more appropriate help, it can save precious time and resources within the EMS community.

The Barrier:

The case management program had potential to be effective but a lack of technology made the process of identifying and prioritizing patients extremely time-consuming.  So much time was spent that case managers were forced to prioritize cases based on field responder complaints rather than based on those in need who called most frequently.

The Solution:

Infotech was motivated to build a solution that would have a big impact on the local community.  Infotech was able to build an application that electronically pinpoints and categorizes the most vulnerable population of San Diego with the click of a button. SDFD RAP coordinators can now track these callers in real time from their initial call, help them find the appropriate medical response, and allow first responders to be available for real emergencies. Read more about the journey in creating this application in this JEMS article.