Implementation of a Sustainable Interdisciplinary Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Transport Safety Innovation and Knowledge Transfer e-platform

Objective: To design, implement, and sustain a purpose developed e-platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and transfer of knowledge from research to practice in EMS transport safety. Methodology: An electronic virtual environment was established to create an end-user driven forum bridging operational EMS services with specific technical fields addressing EMS transport systems safety. The communication platform is ‘Webinar' VOIP technology with secure electronic access to interactive interdisciplinary presentations, recordings, handouts and workshops combining onsite and virtual offsite participation. Results: The e-platform, launched January 2008, utilizes a user friendly interactive Webinar program. The >360 participant consortium includes major urban municipal EMS services to small volunteer rural services, and a spectrum of technical experts, from North America, Europe and Australasia: automotive and transportation engineers, ergonomists, and public health researchers. Real-time and asynchronous access is 288,842 accesses from 19,107 distinct addresses. Interactive and interdisciplinary Webinars are held every 8 weeks. Biannual workshops addressing topic areas identified as gaps in systems safety knowledge, and an annual international best practice field trip are also conducted. An innovative fleet of prototype vehicles have been developed, manufactured and implemented based on this interdisciplinary technical input, and advances in fleet and operational safety practice and policy throughout the consortium. Discussion: Establishment of a sustained interdisciplinary forum for transfer of knowledge from research to practice has been achieved through a secure virtual access network, demonstrated to be accessible to a spectrum of end users, and has resulted in development of innovations in vehicle design and operations policy for safer EMS transport.