Future of digital technology in paramedic practice: blue light of discernment in responsive care for patients?

Our recent research provided an insight into the place of social media and technology for bariatric patient support and examined the perceptions of the allied healthcare practitioners (AHPs) who occupy pivotal roles in the bariatric multi-disciplinary team. The findings revealed a degree of generic transferability to other allied healthcare professional disciplines in relation to the need to aid patients and their families and carers in discerning the best information sources to access from online platforms. This interpretivist overview of the engagement of patients with social media and mobile apps highlighted the evident need for Allied Health Professions, of which paramedics are an integral part, to address issues of ambiguity of the role of digital technology in facilitating and supporting patients in practice (Graham et al, 2017). The wider significance of this work is evident in the context of clinical paramedic practice, where the role of technologies has the potential to become increasingly more commonplace over the next decade. The aim of this discussion paper is to highlight the role and potential value of digital interactivity in paramedic practice and the implications this will potentially have in terms of paramedic education and the pragmatics of the everyday clinical contexts paramedic practice and emergency response occupies.