The Czech Emergency Medical Service has released a free mobile app that is intended to help ambulances hone in on a patient’s location while speeding up response time and offering first aid assistance in the interim.
Called “Záchranka,” the application puts users in contact with the 155 emergency hot-line via a large red-cross button; an SMS with your exact GPS location is then dispatched to your region’s emergency responders.
Additional functions include a locator showing the nearest automated defibrillator, ER, dental clinic, or pharmacy, as well as an interactive first aid feature that walks the uninitiated through medical procedures before emergency help arrives.
While there is no major difference between the app and calling for help the old-fashioned way, its creators say that the added benefit is the emergency text the app automatically sends to EMS.
No internet connection is necessary to use the app, but in order to take advantage of its emergency SMS message feature you must first register your mobile phone number.
The app may already be saving lives: iDnes.cz reported this morning that it was successfully used on Tuesday for emergency assistance. It has registered 50,000 downloads since it was launched on March 8.