A new tool improves coordination, information flow, and treatment times for patients who have suffered an acute heart attack and are urgently transferred to a tertiary hospital. This is the Odisea app, a tool that speeds up procedures from the moment the patient raises the alarm. In a Heart Attack Code, time is life!

The tool was developed by the Dr. Josep Trueta University Hospital of Girona, the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAP Jordi Gol), the Dr. Josep Trueta Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI), and the University of Girona (UdG). It has been in use since September 2021 in the Girona Health Region, connecting the Trueta Hospital as the referral center, the emergency departments of other regional hospitals, and the Emergency Medical Services (SEM).

The app works very simply: when any healthcare facility receives a patient for whom a Heart Attack Code has been activated, they enter the case data into the app, including electrocardiogram images. Sharing this information allows the Cardiology team at Trueta Hospital to instantly assess the patient’s condition via a mobile device or tablet and guide the professionals caring for the patient.

The application also includes a chat through which medical staff from different centers can exchange impressions and clinical guidance in real time. The app incorporates geolocation, making it possible to know at all times where the patient is during hospital transfer.

Once the patient has been treated, all clinical information continues to be uploaded to the application, allowing professionals at the regional hospitals who initially treated the cases to follow the patients’ progress.