ASHICE

ASHICE is mnemonic acronym used by emergency medical services to pass the important details of a patient over to a receiving hospital, or other definitive care provider.

The word is treated as a noun by ambulances crews, who refer to 'passing an ASHICE'. The passing of an ASHICE message is generally undertaken in order to pre-alert a receiving emergency department that a critically ill patient is being brought in

Meaning of the acronym

The acronym is used to pass all the most vital details of the patient to the receiving hospital in order to ensure staff have all the appropriate equipment and staff assembled and prepared.^[1]

• Age — Patient's age
• Sex — Whether the patient is male or female
• History — What has happened to the patient (e.g. collapsed in street)
• Injuries/illness — What injuries have been sustained, or what illness symptoms are presenting
• Condition — Observations of the patient (pulse, BP etc.), interventions used (Cannulation, Intubation etc.)
• ETA — Estimated Time of Arrival to the hospital

Other uses

ASHICE is also taught as the basis of handing over a patient at hospital, or for community responders handing over to arriving ambulance crews (although the ETA is not required here).

References