Assess, Diagnose, and Refer, All In One Solution

Give low-acuity patients the care they deserve with the Emergency Communication Nurse System.

Not Every Emergency Needs An Ambulance

Research shows that 15-20% of medical calls coming into Emergency Communications Centers can be referred to a secondary nurse triage system. Without a system in place to triage them, these low-acuity, non-emergency calls can consume valuable time and resources that are needed for more urgent situations. ECNS gives MPDS Accredited Centers new options to care for patients who do not require an ambulance or a trip to the ER. Over 200 protocols help assess and assign appropriate care to patients over the phone, resulting in better patient outcomes while decreasing the burden on First Responders and emergency health care providers.

ECNS was created by our partners at Priority Solutions, Inc.

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ECNS is the most used nurse triage system in the world, serving agencies on four continents and seven languages.

Take care of every caller

ECNS makes providing the right level of care easy and natural, while also saving your most precious resources for the biggest emergencies.

The Best Results, Powered by Professionals

Refined over two decades and over 90 million calls, ECNS has built-in safeguards to catch high-risk calls and life-threatening situations. When fielding a call, the ECN first verifies that there are no priority symptoms that require emergency care. Based on a caller’s answers, ECNs have the power to send an ambulance if necessary.

Reduce Burdens on Ambulance and ER Services

15-20% of calls received by Emergency Communication Centers are low-acuity and not time sensitive. By providing personalized healthcare services through its over 200 symptom-based protocols, ECNS reduces the need for ambulance response and the burden on emergency rooms.

Set Locally Defined Responses

Each agency sets their “Points of Care,” or locally available resources, where patients can be referred to for treatment depending on the Recommended Care Level established by the protocol.

We Don’t Do Amateur Detective Work

ECNS is run by a Registered Emergency Care Nurse and the protocols are built on logic-driven questions that help the ECN take into account the age, gender, and previous medical history of the patient. With the ECN serving as expert, a Recommended Care Level is determined, which can range from sending an ambulance to providing self-care instructions.

ECNS and Lowcode

The reasons for a unified medical dispatch protocol.

The Emergency Communication Nurse System (ECNS) allows our Clinical Call Center (CCC) nurses to provide safe, effective, and evidenced based high-quality triage care for our patients on every call every time. Each symptom is thoroughly explored in detail while also reviewing the patients medications, allergies, past medical and surgical history giving the nurse a complete holistic view. Using ECNS, the CCC nurses are able to safely and accurately get our patients to the most appropriate level of care which many times prevents unnecessary emergency room visits.

Jeffrey Pick, Assistant Vice President of Care Management, Northwell Health, New York, USA

Demand on our ambulance service is increasing year-on-year, so this is about thinking smarter about what we can do with the resources we have to keep up with the fast-changing picture. The mix of combining people, process, and technology were the game changers, as well as the benefits of improved resource allocation. It means that patients are getting the right care, in the right place at the right time, and it also means we can protect our precious resources for those who need us most. We also try not to overwhelm the wider health economy if we can clinically care for patients at source and provide them the most appropriate care remotely and closer to home.

Dr. Mike Brady, Consultant Paramedic Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Wales, UK

Priority Solutions is one of the cornerstones of our Community Health Programs. This product allowed us to develop a pioneering, integrated healthcare program that ensures we are getting patients the right care, at the right time and in the most cost-effective way.

Dr. Brad Lee, Chief Medical Officer, Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, Washoe County, Nevada

Learn How to Get the ECNS Protocols in LowCode

See ECNS in Action

Don’t just take our word for it – we’ll show you exactly how over 200 protocols included in ECNS can save your agency or center time and precious resources.

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Questions? We Have Answers.

What is required to use ECNS?

Agencies that wish to implement the ECNS must be accredited as an IAED Center of Excellence (ACE) in Emergency Medical Dispatch. Learn how your agency can achieve ACE status here. In addition, your Emergency Communications Center must use the Medical Priority Dispatch System ProQA Emergency Dispatch software and AQUA quality improvement software.

How do the ECNS protocols work?

The 200 symptom-based protocols guide RNs through a set of logic-driven questions that help assess a patient. These protocols consider gender, age, and clinical risk factors to help RNs arrive at a Recommended Care Level and provide instructions to patients on how to receive further care.

What is the difference between ECNS and LowCode?

LowCode is the software platform that delivers the ECNS protocols. It is the main interface for RNs assessing patients using the ECNS protocols.