Necessity is the mother of invention, and nowhere is this more obvious at EMAS3, Inc., where owner Hank Hall has created software programs that help patients and medical professionals keep medication records accurate and up-to-date.“I created my original program, Notifione.com, when I was delivering medicine for a pharmacy,” he explained. “I came in contact with a lot of people, including two ladies who both had dementia and had to be moved out of independent living to stay with their children because they couldn’t remember when to take their meds.
“I decided to create a program that notifies both a patient and the patient’s caregiver that it’s time for that person’s medication, via landline, cellphone, text or email, in order to help these people live independently for a longer time. Every day that a person gets to live independently is like winning the lottery.”
That creation led to the invention of the ERMJ (Emergency Response Medical Journal), which Hall designed in concert with fire and rescue professionals. “When first responders enter a residence, they look for any medications that a person may be taking so that they know how to best treat that patient,” Hall explained. “The ERMJ provides an alphabetical list of medications as well as a personal profile and insurance information.”
The second part of the form, a Medication Face Sheet, lists the types of medicine, dosages, frequency, physicians’ names and the clinical reason for the medication, among other pertinent facts. The ERMJ, which is updated monthly, can be kept in an obvious place like the refrigerator for first responders to see, and can also be taken to doctors’ appointments.
The key to the ERMJ is the Verification Value Point (VVP), a system in which EMAS3’s physicians and pharmacists check the medications listed for accuracy or contraindications. “They may say that the list looks good or that an issue has been spotted; for example, a patient with gout may be taking two different medications, and one of those dosages is too high and may in fact be contributing to the gout,” explained Hall. “We’ll contact the patient and his or her caregiver and let them know so that their doctor can be made aware of the potential problem.”
EMAS3 serves as an aide to physicians, who often do not receive complete or accurate information from their patients, or who may not realize that these patients are seeing other doctors who are prescribing different medications. When a patient takes the continually updated ERMJ to his or her doctor, it gives the physician a chance to get a full view of the treatments that the person is receiving.
“Without a verification process, it is extremely dangerous to rely on a patient’s list that may or may not be right,” said Hall, adding that medication errors are the third leading cause of death in the nation. “First responders and medical professionals need to know that they’re not working from bad information.”
The cost for this service is a $50 set-up fee and $16 a month, which seems a small investment for keeping a loved one safe. “With our system, people can become active participants in their own well-being, and we’ll do all the work for them,” said Hall.
