“MedTRIS” (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System): A Web-based Client Server System for the Registration of Patients Being Treated in First Aid Posts at Public Events and Mass Gatherings

Abstract

First aid (FA) services are provisioned on-site as a preventive measure at most public events. In Flanders, Belgium, the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders (BRCF) is the major provider of these FA services with volunteers being deployed at approximately 10,000 public events annually. The BRCF has systematically registered information on the patients being treated in FA posts at major events and mass gatherings during the last 10 years. This information has been collected in a web-based client server system called "MedTRIS" (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System). MedTRIS contains data on more than 200,000 patients at 335 mass events. This report describes the MedTRIS architecture, the data collected, and how the system operates in the field. This database consolidates different types of information with regards to FA interventions in a standardized way for a variety of public events. MedTRIS allows close monitoring in "real time" of the situation at mass gatherings and immediate intervention, when necessary; allows more accurate prediction of resources needed; allows to validate conceptual and predictive models for medical resources at (mass) public events; and can contribute to the definition of a standardized minimum data set (MDS) for mass-gathering health research and evaluation. Gogaert S , Vande veegaete A , Scholliers A , Vandekerckhove P . "MedTRIS" (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System): a web-based client server system for the registration of patients being treated in first aid posts at public events and mass gatherings. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(5):557-562.

The Development of PRIMA - A Belgian Prediction Model for Patient Encounters at Mass Gatherings

“…Whereas Ranse first proposed the MDS for MG health research and evaluation in 2012, 24 no published MDS so far was found. However, together with another Belgian tool, MedTRIS, 13 the PRIMA program paves the way for MG data analysis suggesting better delivery of medical resources at MGs.…”

“…Second, obtaining data post-event is often ignored or refused by the medical team that provided care. Except for the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, 13 there is still a lack in uniform patient registration in Belgium. And even the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is apprehensive to share their MedTRIS data.…”

“…A decreased number of transfers to hospital is well-associated with the provision of on-site medical care by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and personnel in the field. [10][11][12] And while the science of MG medicine is fast evolving, literature on models predicting patient encounters is scarce, 9 and except for Belgium's Red Cross Flanders' (Flanders, Belgium) Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System (MedTRIS), 13 minimum data sets (MDS) for research and evaluation of MGs are lacking. Models most cited in MG literature are the models of Arbon 5,14 and Hartman.…”

On the Way Out: An Analysis of Patient Transfers from Four Large-Scale North American Music Festivals Over Two Years

“…The authors were able to do this because the festivals shared a common approach to the documentation of patient encounters. At present, several groups are working, under the auspices of the World Health Organization (Geneva, Switzerland) Collaborating Centres on Mass Gatherings, on the creation of a Minimum Data Set, 40 - 42 and others have already crafted an approach to this challenge 43 . This would enable event medical teams to report on similar data points, across many events, ultimately creating a larger database that would support evidence-informed decisions about a variety of issues.…”

“…At present, several groups are working, under the auspices of the World Health Organization (Geneva, Switzerland) Collaborating Centres on Mass Gatherings, on the creation of a Minimum Data Set, [40][41][42] and others have already crafted an approach to this challenge. 43 This would enable event medical teams to report on similar data points, across many events, ultimately creating a larger database that would support evidence-informed decisions about a variety of issues. As well, MG health researchers might consider reporting both transfers to hospital and transfers averted by the presence of a team capable of monitoring services on-site.…”