In early September, some netizens reported that when first aid was carried out in the waiting hall of Haikou West Bus Station, an AED needed to scan the code to open the outer box and take it out, which aroused heated public opinion. On September 17, Haikou 12345 replied that the Municipal Health Commission was procuring qualified chassis and carrying out planned updates to non-standard chassis.
The Jimu News reporter learned that the AED first-aid equipment that needs to scan the code is the contradiction between the AED that is developing and popularizing and the government's difficulty in supervising AED. On the one hand, in the public's expectations and national norms, a number of historical AED boxes can no longer keep up with the requirements of public health and need to be removed; On the other hand, in the case of limited budgets, local governments need to prioritize ensuring the sufficient number of AED first-aid equipment from the perspective of people's livelihood.
AED scan the QR code to open the box?
On September 9, a citizen of Haikou released a video saying that an uncle in the waiting hall of Haikou West Bus Station suddenly fainted, and when he wanted to use a nearby AED to give first aid to the uncle, he found that his outer box read "WeChat scan the code and open the cabinet door". Due to the poor signal of the typhoon transit network, the netizen was unable to sweep the outer box and take out the AED, but fortunately, the uncle was rescued by artificial cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the end.
In this regard, the Haikou Emergency Center and the third-party operation and maintenance company both responded that there is a safety hammer on the side of the outer box, and the AED can be smashed open in case of emergency. The AED that needs to scan the QR code to open the box has also aroused the attention of public opinion, and many netizens are worried, "Passers-by generally dare not use a hammer to smash, whether to scan the QR code or use a hammer, hesitation, the golden first aid time has passed." ”
AED with a QR code (Source: Internet)
AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator, which is a portable, easy-to-operate cardiac emergency device. In the face of sudden cardiac arrest, even non-professionals, AED can be used immediately to defibrillate the patient and help the patient with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, so the AED is also called a "life-saving device". However, the "life-saving artifact" has a design that needs to be scanned by a QR code, which seems to be contrary to its use attributes.
"When customers have demand, we produce." An AED agent told Jimu News that AEDs that need to scan QR codes are a phased product of the development of the industry. In the past two years, in the context of the popularization of AED, customers have a higher demand for AED management, and manufacturers have launched AED intelligent management. The so-called "intelligent management" refers to the establishment of a background system to monitor the status of AED equipment in a timely manner, such as who uses the AED, whether the AED can be used, etc., so as to facilitate timely management and maintenance.
AED agents told reporters that QR codes are just a way to achieve intelligent management. In the early days, the AED cabinet itself did not have the networking function, and later, in order to save costs, users could scan the QR code to achieve intelligent management, which also gave birth to a batch of AEDs with QR codes.
The Jimu News reporter learned that the AED involved in Haikou is the YC106B model of Pumeikang under Yuyue Medical. Yuyue Medical's customer service specialist confirmed to the Jimu News reporter that the AED is an old model, and the code is scanned for easy management, and it is still on sale until now, and it is not only distributed in Hainan.
However, neither agents nor manufacturers think that there is anything wrong with designing a QR code on the AED box, because the box can actually be opened by smashing the panel, not only by scanning the code. "In special cases, you can smash the panel and take the equipment without any consequences." Yuyue Medical customer service said that there had never been a problem in the past, and no user had reported that the box was inconvenient to open.
All the upgrades are facing financial difficulties
Why is the Haikou West Bus Station, which has a large flow of people, still using AEDs with QR code boxes, is there no better chassis to replace? The above-mentioned agent told reporters that in fact, technically, the AED already has a better box, which can be directly opened and used, and the box itself can automatically report data to the background. And more and more places are using such AEDs to replace the old version of the AED cabinet.
Why do "outdated" AEDs continue to exist when there are already better AEDs?
"It's really a pain point in our work." The person in charge of the training department of the Haikou Emergency Center told the Jimu News reporter that there are indeed some AED boxes with QR codes in Haikou City. This batch of AEDs was configured in 2018, and the cost of purchasing it was 40,000 yuan or 50,000 yuan. After the relevant standards were issued by the state in 2021, the original batch of AEDs no longer met the demand, and as a historical problem, it should theoretically be disposed of as soon as possible.
But on the other hand, the number of AEDs currently in Haikou has not yet reached half of the target of 3,000 units advocated by the state. At present, 90% of the machines have been replaced in the local area, and there are still dozens of machines that need to be replaced. If these coded AEDs are removed all at once, it may result in no AEDs available to the public.
"Considering the possibility of failure to scan the code, we are also equipped with emergency measures such as safety hammers to ensure that citizens can get the AED equipment in time. All things considered, it is better to keep this batch of AEDs first. The above-mentioned person in charge of the training department of the Haikou Emergency Center said that in order to ensure that there are no problems with the use of this batch of old batches of AEDs, the Haikou Municipal Health Commission also specially found a third-party operation and maintenance company to supervise the AED equipment to inspect the use of AEDs.
The third-party AED operation and maintenance company also told Jimu News that there is a special person to monitor AEDs in real time through the background, and the company inspects all AEDs in the city three times a year.
The above-mentioned person in charge revealed to reporters that it is not easy to manage AEDs between the main body, national standards and public expectations. At present, the outer box of the AED at Haikou West Bus Station has been replaced, but it will take time to replace the remaining outer box. Most of the AEDs in Haikou are donated by social forces, and the Health Commission can only advocate the use of more convenient AEDs by the delivery party, and the purchase cost is correspondingly higher. In addition, we are also actively applying for funding, and we also try to replace the outer box when the delivery unit cannot be replaced. The person in charge said that the current plan is to replace the remaining dozens of AEDs of the same type within the end of the year.
Haikou City 12345 replied to the Jimu News reporter that the Municipal Health Commission is purchasing qualified chassis and carrying out planned updates to non-standard chassis.
AED in a subway station in Shenzhen uses seals to manage outer boxes (Source: CCTV News)
AED standardization is the future
"Scanning the code is one of the ways to open the AED case and take out the AED." Zhang Yuanchun, a first-aid science popularizer, told reporters that in the process of practice, he has also been exposed to ways such as swiping ID cards and unlocking keys. In practice, due to the need for management, the industry has a variety of configuration methods for AED outer boxes, and the popularity of AED is inconsistent in the region, so it is difficult to require mandatory unified specifications, and there is no mandatory unified standard in the industry at present.
However, scanning the QR code may delay the removal of the AED, and there may even be situations where it cannot be removed, such as the phone is out of battery. Zhang Yuanchun said that no matter what way, the most important thing is to get the AED conveniently and quickly.
Zhang Yuanchun said that with the popularity of AEDs, there are also management difficulties. As early as 2021, there were AED outer boxes that needed to be scanned to download the APP to open, which sparked media discussions. According to the Nanfang Daily, it costs 20,000-30,000 yuan for each AED device purchased, and the battery needs to be replaced every two to three years, including overhaul and maintenance costs. The question of who will fund and how to maintain it becomes a real question.
In the past, after many social forces purchased AEDs and donated them to local governments, "some places do not maintain or cherish them, and in some places, the AEDs have been left for a long time and the batteries are dead, and no one cares." Zhang Yuanchun said.
Zhang Yuanchun said that on the one hand, it is necessary to popularize it to the public, and at the critical moment, it is not necessary to unlock, scan, and swipe the ID card, but to smash the glass and take out the AED to save people. On the other hand, standardized development is the trend of the future.
In December 2021, Article 5 of the "Defibrillator Notice" installation requirements issued by the General Office of the National Health Commission shows that the outer box or cabinet door should be opened easily and quickly (without locking or scanning the code) to avoid missing rescue time.
Some regions have also begun to standardize AED configuration and maintenance management. In June 2022, Hangzhou required that "AEDs should be equipped with protective outer boxes or cabinets, and should not be locked or opened by scanning codes". In June 2024, the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission also required that AEDs should be equipped with protective outer boxes or cabinets, and the protective outer boxes or cabinet doors should be easy and quick to open, and should not be locked or opened by scanning the code.