EMS ALS Guide App – Now With Notes!

With every cycle of technological advancement we continue to see an increase in processing power in a smaller package. These smaller packages, coupled with improvements to battery design, are leading the proliferation in the mobile market. While tablets are the hot topic item, you still can’t fit a tablet in your pocket. Thankfully publishers such as Informed Guides are translating their vital information into smart phone specific programs such as the EMS ALS Guide App. Based on the print EMS Field Guide (ALS), the application takes providing guidance to the next level with a feature set including advanced interactive calculators while it also maintains some old school functionality most providers find vital.

One of the habits I got into with my original paper guides was to make my own notes in them. I don’t think this was an uncommon practice because the guides actually had some pages in them for note taking.

Some people may be surprised to learn that this note taking functionality is NOT lost using the EMS ALS Guide App! You can add notes into any section by simply pressing the MENU button on your phone. This gives you instant access to in app Search, Add Bookmarks, and Note functions as well as shortcuts to the interactive Calculators, your already saved Bookmarks, and the Common Drugs listing.

Because my system is moving towards utilizing the “fifth triage color” of orange, this note feature is going to be extremely handy for me to input the orange tag specifics in a note in the section. Once a note is saved, there is an icon that appears in the upper right hand corner of the section to indicate that there are notes saved. Preserving old school functionality in today’s digital age is one thing that helps set this app apart from the rest of the pack.

Another neat feature, that I honestly found simply by accident, is in the Poison section. Potential poisonings are one of the more nerve wracking call types out there. These calls require us to not only be able to do an effective speedy assessment, but to a certain degree channel Sherlock Holmes to identify what it is that the patient actually consumed. Once that’s done we are often left with one remaining question, what do I do now?

The EMS ALS Guide App has a very comprehensive poison section. The entries feature signs and symptoms along with the recommended treatments. More importantly, below that is a direct link that by simply pressing it will bring your phone to life by dialing the National Poison Control Center. Poison Control is one of our most valuable but often under utilized resources we have available to us in the field. Being able to provide immediate interventions while reaching out for more advanced guidance is vital when it comes to helping our patients survive potential poisonings, and the EMS ALS Guide App makes it extremely simple to do.

This is the must have app for every paramedic and you can find the EMS ALS Guide App in both the Droid Marketplace and the iOS iTunes App Store.

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