5 Tips to Improve Team Communication in Your Ambulance Service

Communication, for ambulance service teams, is critical to aid in providing the best possible care for patients. Without effective communication between dispatchers and ambulance teams, precious time is lost detailing patient conditions and other critical information that could have been communicated earlier to ensure the right teams and tools are ready to go the moment emergency patients arrive at the emergency department doors.

These are five things you can do to improve team communication for your ambulance service.

1. Upgrade to push to talk two-way radios. These radios offer instant communication between ambulance staff and the hospital so they can relay critical information about medications administered, vital signs, patient condition, and more. This means hospitals are ready to receive them straight into surgery, if necessary, and not flying blind when patients are turned over to hospital staff. The other benefit of push to talk two-way radios is that you can communicate with an individual, small group, or entire group with ease.
2. Invest in reliable communications tools and networks that offer stability. It doesn’t matter how amazing and state of the art your communications tools are if the networks they operate on are not up to the task. Make sure you have a network that covers the entire area in which your drivers operate.
3. Establish policies related to effective use of communications technology. Technology is constantly evolving and, when dealing with emergency care, the airways for communication need to be open for that purpose. This means policies that keep the lines of communication uncluttered with mundane and irrelevant information and, instead, focusing on improving patient outcomes.
4. Choose communication options that are fast. Push to talk two-way radios offer the unique benefit of instant communication. In emergency situations where seconds matter, this ability can save lives. Something all ambulance service team members are eager to do. There is no waiting for dial tones or for someone to pick up on the other end. Communication comes with the push of a single button.
5. Remove telephones from the communication equation. Telephones are quickly becoming the most inefficient means of communication available. In addition to creating unnecessary delays, endless games of “telephone” or telephone tag, can cost lives. It,s as essential to remove ineffective communications tools, like telephones, from the equation, as it is to include more effective, instantaneous communications tools, like push to talk two way radios within the equation.

Peak PTT is here to answer all your questions about how to improve communication for your ambulance service by including push to talk two-way radios in the mix. Contact us today, to learn how we can help you create better outcomes for many of the patients you treat through more effective and efficient communications tools.