Background
Transition of care represents a significant patient safety risk due to the potential loss of critical clinical information (World Health Organization, 2016, p. 3).
Research identifies the omission of medications as the most common type of discrepancy found in patient records (Hellström et al., 2012, p. 6). Furthermore, reliance on patient memory in acute situations is often unreliable, as many older emergency patients are unable to provide a complete or accurate account of their medication history (Goldberg et al., 2021, p. 2).
Beyond medications, there are substantial deficiencies in the documentation of allergies. This problem is particularly acute during prehospital transitions, where allergy details are often missing from both transfer-of-care forms and report documents. Such documentation gaps pose a significant risk to patient safety and can lead to avoidable adverse events (Lubin & Shah, 2022, p. 3; Ringwald et al., 2024, p. 143).
Project Vision
TrinitySync improves the flow of information during the very first contact with emergency responders. This enables faster, more effective and safer emergency care, while helping to reduce both errors and delays.
The solution is based on a small, predefined dataset consisting of the Trinity: allergies, medications, and pre-existing conditions.
Key Features
TrinitySync receives medical data directly from the primary care physician, ensuring that the information is always current and clinically reliable.
Access is enabled through a QR code placed in a fixed, easily accessible location — such as the outside of the patient’s fridge. Scanning the QR code directly redirects emergency responders to the web application via a secure, unique one-time access link. This approach minimises the number of steps required in time-critical situations while maintaining the intended access control concept.
The web application displays the individual’s name, date of birth, and the full Trinity dataset: allergies, current medications, and pre-existing conditions. Access is strictly limited to authorised emergency responders. No app, no login, and no additional workload for the patient is required.
A strong emphasis is placed on intuitive design, ease of understanding, and efficient usability — with a clear focus on saving time in critical moments.
Project Status
A functional prototype has been successfully implemented, demonstrating the core concept of providing emergency responders with immediate access to essential patient information. The frontend, backend, and database components have been integrated into a working system. The technical objectives of the project have largely been achieved.
A comprehensive usability testing concept, questionnaire, and test protocol have been developed and are ready for deployment. The actual usability evaluation is planned for the following semester and will serve as a basis for further refinement of the prototype.
Project Goal
The goal is to ensure continuity of care by providing the Trinity of information precisely when and where it is needed most. TrinitySync is designed to support medical professionals — with a particular focus on emergency responders.
It is essential that the solution does not impose any additional workload on emergency responders — because saving time should never mean losing it.
References
Goldberg, E. M., Marks, S. J., Merchant, R. C., Nagy, J. L., Aquilante, J. A., & Beaudoin, F. L. (2021). How Accurately Do Older Adult Emergency Department Patients Recall Their Medications? Academic Emergency Medicine, 28(2), 248–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14032
Hellström, L. M., Bondesson, Å., Höglund, P., & Eriksson, T. (2012). Errors in medication history at hospital admission: Prevalence and predicting factors. BMC Clinical Pharmacology, 12(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6904-12-9
Lubin, J. S., & Shah, A. (2022). An Incomplete Medical Record: Transfer of Care From Emergency Medical Services to the Emergency Department. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.22446
Ringwald, M., Moi, L., Wetzel, A., Comte, D., Muller, Y. D., & Ribi, C. (2024). Risk factors for allergy documentation in electronic health record: A retrospective study in a tertiary health center in Switzerland. Allergology International, 73(1), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2023.06.006
World Health Organization. (2016). Transitions of Care: Technical Series on Safer Primary Care. WHO. Abgerufen am: 25.01.2026. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/252272/9789241511599eng.pdf?sequence=1
A project at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences Master Program Digital Healthcare.
Project Team: Georg Guenthoer, Armin Schlacher, Mirna Elhabbak, Susan Najmi, Ines Mayr
Project Coach: FH-Prof. Dipl.-Sporting. Dr. Mario Heller
