NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, April 2012
ICE Your Cell Phone - Save Your Life
By Sandy Berger, CompuKISS
http://www.compukiss.com
Sandy (at) compukiss.com (click to email author)

You may have never heard of the ACEP, American College of Emergency Physicians, but their new consumer website is one you might want to visit. With the number of emergency room visits growing rapidly, this organization has put together a website where patients can access health information, share stories, and get involved in advocacy efforts. http://www.acep.org

Visits to the emergency department hit a new high in 2006. A record 119.2 million people, up from 115 million, were recorded by the Centers for Disease Control, with an average of 227 visits per minute. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) predicts those numbers will only keep rising.

According to the report, age groups with the highest visit rates were infants under 12 months of age and those over the age of 75. In fact, people aged 65 and older are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and are the most likely to be admitted to the hospital of all emergency patients. Researchers conclude that visits for patients between 65 and 74 could nearly double from 64 million in 2003 to 111.7 million by 2013. Despite these numbers, emergency departments continue to close - causing delays for people with serious medical conditions like heart attacks.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, ACEP will be making available video clips featuring emergency medicine pioneers, vintage photographs and radio public service announcements. In addition, the organization is launching a new consumer website, EmergencyCareForYou.org, which features extensive public information. The year-long campaign is sponsored in part by General Motors OnStar, Ultrasonix and ZOLL Medical Corporation.

The EmergencyCareForYou website is a comprehensive site that you will want to visit. It has information on everything from "how to tell if it is an emergency" to "family disaster preparedness".

One important section of this website talks about how "ICE" and Your Cell Phone Can Help Save Your Life.

The website states, "Emergency physicians are recommending that people with cellular phones add "ICE'" entries into their cell phone address books. This stands for "In Case of Emergency," and medical professionals are using it to notify the person's emergency contacts and to obtain critical medical information when a patient arrives unconscious or unable to answer questions."

I didn't know about this, yet it sounds like a great idea! Check it out. It may save your life. More information can be found at the ICEforHelp website. Click here to return to top



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