Data Lifetime and Export

AngelTrack retains data for up to seven years, depending on the type of data. It is easy to pull data out of AngelTrack, for archival or for analysis in other software applications.

Data Lifetime

Most data in AngelTrack is stored for seven years, then automatically destroyed. A few data types are stored for less than seven years:

All Grids Export as .CSV

Every data grid everywhere in AngelTrack is exportable. Just click the button, shown at the right-hand side of the grid's header row.

The export will be downloaded to you as a "comma-separated values" file, also known as a .CSV file. Many other software applications understand .CSV files and can easily import them -- notably including Microsoft Excel.

The exported .CSV will always contain whatever data is presently showing in the grid, so you can adjust the grid's filters first and then export it once you've got the grid just the way you like it.

Your spreadsheet application can then convert it to .PDF

Once you export an AngelTrack grid to Microsoft Excel™ or Google Sheets™, the resulting spreadsheet can export itself as a .PDF. Remember to adjust your column widths and data-formats first.

All Run Reports Export as .PDF

Every dispatch -- whether scheduled, open, delegated, closed, or cancelled -- has an exportable run report. Links labelled "PDF" appear in many places, offering to download the dispatch's run report as a .PDF file viewable on any computer with a .PDF viewer installed.

You can also download .PDF run reports in bulk, zipped up in a batch. Most of the billing queues offer this option, as do the Closed Dispatches and Patient Edit pages. The bulk export button appears at the top right-hand side of the page. The .PDFs are bundled into a .ZIP file, along with a small Excel spread showing a summary of the included dispatches (origin, destination, patient name, etc.), and then downloaded to you.

Compact .PDFs are available too

If you intend to print the run reports on paper, and wish to conserve as much paper as possible, then choose the "Compact PDF" option. This will eliminate all of the page breaks that are normally used for readability. The entire contents of the report will be fit into the smallest possible number of pages.

All Run Reports Export as NEMSIS 3 .XML

All run reports are always available for export in NEMSIS 3 format. This format is an .XML document that contains all dispatch and PCR information, including electronic signatures, scanned documents, ECG strips, and so on.

The NEMSIS format was established by the NEMSIS committee for the purpose of data interchange between EMS software applications. It is used to send data from a CAD application to a PCR application, and from a PCR application to a billing application. NEMSIS version 2, aka NEMSIS "gold", is an obsolete older version; the current specification is NEMSIS version 3, with which AngelTrack is certified compliant.

AngelTrack includes much extra data in the NEMSIS 3 XML, as custom values (eCustom/eCustomResults), including patient notes, billing notes, and custom PCR fields. To see the format of this additional data, refer to the State Uploads Guide.

As with .PDF exports, you can download your NEMSIS 3 .XML exports in bulk, as a .ZIP archive.

All Charts Export Their Underlying Data as .CSV

Every chart everywhere in AngelTrack is exportable.

To export just the chart image, right-click it and select the appropriate "Save As..." or "Save Image As..." from your browser's popup menu.

To export the data underlying the chart, click the button, shown at the bottom left-hand side of the chart. The data will be downloaded as a .CSV file in the same way grids do.

The Bulk Excel Exporter

Under Billing Home there is a tool called Bulk Excel Export. It allows you to filter a set of dispatches and then export them to Excel as a .CSV. The exported data includes about a hundred different columns, containing everything you might want to know about each dispatch.

The raw data can be used to create all manner of derivative reports using Excel's formulas, scripts, and charts. Or feed it to some other application.

If you need a piece of data that is not already a column in the export, just call AngelTrack support and request that it be added. There is no charge for that service: we believe that if one customer is asking for a certain data-column, then other customers will benefit from it too.

Programmatically Exporting Data

AngelTrack offers up many of its key records for download using URLs, so that bulk data exports can be automated:

For example, the URL https://yourserver.angeltrack.com/dispatch/4033 will retrieve the HTML run report for dispatch ID 4033.

Custom Export Requirements

If you require a custom export format, contact AngelTrack support, who may already know how to accomplish your goal.

If AngelTrack cannot yet meet your requirements, then the support office will write a bid to develop a custom exporter.

The problem with exporting EMS data is that it is not simple text data that could just be dumped in a comma-delimited file. Many fields have optional "not recorded" / "not applicable" / "none" / "patient refused" special values. Likewise many fields are lists of values, such as the list of ambulance certifications in loop 2300 CRC03.

Thus, it is necessarily to first develop a datafile specification governing how information is to be represented. For example, the spec might say:

• A true/false field will be represented as "1" and "0"
• A field whose value is "[Not recorded]" will be represented as "-1"
• Medicare insurance type will be represented as "MC"
• Patient date of birth will be represented in "YYYY-MM-DD" format
• Et cetera

AngelTrack R&D will submit the spec to your team for approval. After the spec is approved, R&D can proceed to write a custom exporter that conforms to it. The exporter will be guaranteed to meet the approved spec.

It's a lot of work. Expect to pay at least $10,000 for the completed spec and the guaranteed exporter.

Be wary of an outside biller who does not accept NEMSIS 3

These requests for custom exporters usually come from outside billers, who say their software does not accept NEMSIS 3 and so they need AngelTrack to spit out its calls in a custom format.

It is usually the non-EMS billers who make these requests. They are using ordinary practice-management software -- intended for a doctor's office. They believe they are qualified to code and file EMS claims, but they don't know what they don't know. They've never heard of NEMSIS, and their software doesn't support it because their software wasn't built for EMS claims.

All modern software designed for EMS will support NEMSIS 3 datafiles. It's the national standard.