Prehospital data – an underutilized gold mine that saves lives

- We have realized what an incredible resource the ambulance register AmbuReg is. There we have tried to find new ways to work both with the infrastructure and to highlight the opportunities we have in this rather unique resource, says Hanna Maurin Söderholm, who also runs PICTA Prehospital Innovationsarena - a partnership programmes for innovation in prehospital care.

She says that there are big differences between the start of the project and how Nationellt Prehospitalt Datalabb has developed. Among other things, they have had to do much more basic work around research data than was initially thought. From the beginning, the plan was to also create an own data environment, but instead the choice fell on using existing infrastructure through Svensk Nationell Datatjänst.

Other lessons learned are that it is still quite complex, both operationally and legally, how to make data available in different ways.

- This is health data, it is very sensitive data, sensitive personal data and things like that. There are still gray areas there. The educational institutions are not completely agreed on how to do it, they have different traditions around this. We have learned a lot about that, she says.

At the beginning of 2024, the project was extended, which means, among other things, that one must now try to get so-called outcome data into AmbuReg.

- We now not only want to get data from the ambulance service, but also what has happened to the patient further along the care chain. A kind of conclusion simply. It will make all the data in AmbuReg so much more useful. We are looking at a case, a model, to first test this in one or two regions, but then this should be possible widely throughout the country, says Hanna Maurin Söderholm.

She says that they are also looking at how to use AmbuReg for follow-up of innovation and changes, which is practical now that video is starting to be used more and more in ambulance healthcare.

What has been the most fun in the project?

- The connection to the national quality register and how we can work a little more innovatively with it, it's been a lot of fun. After all, we have many quality registers in Sweden and it is like a tradition that we should be proud of. That we look at a young and new register with slightly new eyes and see how it can be used, not only for research, but also follow-up, innovation and development - I think that is good. And it has been very exciting to have the opportunity to take this further, says Hanna Maurin Söderholm.

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