Managed Care Law Weekly
Copyright 2006 Managed Care Law Weekly
As part of a new study, SUNY Upstate Medical University physicians will use traffic surveillance cameras to view motor vehicle crashes and rescue operations on Central New York highways in hopes of learning how to provide better care to crash victims when they arrive in the emergency room.
The study - believed to be the first of its kind in the nation - is being funded by the noted U.S. economist Alfred Kahn, who survived a car crash in 2003 and spent weeks recovering from his injuries at SUNY Upstate’s teaching hospital, University Hospital.
For the study, SUNY Upstate researchers will have access to nearly 20 closed-circuit video cameras installed in and around Syracuse by the New York state Department of Transportation (DOT). These cameras are monitored by the DOT’s Syracuse office 24 hours a day to assess traffic conditions in the area. The cameras, controlled by DOT personnel, can pan, tilt and zoom to particular areas of the roadway. Eleven cameras cover a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 81; 8 additional cameras will be in place shortly to cover a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 690.
A special receiving antenna brings the real time images into a specially outfitted workstation located near University Hospital’s trauma room. Here, medical personnel can view the crash scene and rescue efforts on a computer monitor. The technology for the workstation was provided by CXtec.
When a crash occurs, DOT personnel will alert SUNY Upstate researchers and refer them to a particular camera to view the crash. Once the image is available on the computer Researchers can begin recording the images and provide the DOT staff with instructions on whether to zoom or pan the camera.
“We think the ability to view real time images of the accident scene to see the extent of damage and the response from paramedics can provide us with a wealth of information that may help us better treat the accident victims when they arrive at the emergency room,” said John McCabe, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Upstate.
Currently, first responders to an accident scene communicate with physicians via radio about the extent of injuries of those being transported to the hospital. They may also provide physicians with information about what the accident scene looks like and relay information about the accident from eyewitness accounts, if available.
“The information we get from the scene is what we relay on to mobilize staff and equipment in the emergency room before the patient arrives,” McCabe said, “and often this information can be ambiguous.”
Earlier studies done in the United States and abroad have shown that viewing photographic documentation of crash scenes, including vehicle damage, has provided benefit to physicians. Studies at East Carolina University and Albany Medical College have shown that emergency room physicians treat crash victims more aggressively when provided with photos of crash scenes. The studies also found that physicians who saw the photos noted the accidents were more severe than reports received by emergency medical personnel indicated.