A substantial number of transfers to a hospital provided by an EMS ambulatory service are for health conditions that are not considered to be an emergency. These non-emergency medical transfers result not only in wasted healthcare resources but also potentially keeping this life-saving service from someone who may be experiencing a true emergency.
Community paramedicine, the training that allows paramedics to function outside their traditional emergency response and transport roles, has become an increasingly important initiative to help facilitate more appropriate uses of emergency healthcare resources.
The addition of telemedicine to a community paramedicine plan provides paramedics with at their fingertips. RelyMD’s telemedicine platform, staffed by actively practicing emergency medicine specialists, supplies EMS providers with an additional resource to use in the delivery of medical care to their patients. Having these providers available to consult with paramedics and the patient via a video interaction can help initiate a care plan that would allow patients to avoid an expensive transfer. Keep reading to learn more ways community paramedicine telemedicine can help your EMS service.
Customized Care Plans
Whether your paramedics are called to the scene for a laceration or a prescription refill, having the ability to connect with a doctor and chat with them in real-time allows for assistance when creating at-home manageable care plans or advice for treatments to be sought as follow-on care when a transfer is not deemed necessary.
Bridging the Gap for Rural Communities
Patients who reside in rural communities are often hard-pressed to find sufficient access to medical resources. Insufficient health care offerings can leave EMS providers and emergency departments overburdened. The disparate systems also lead to a gap in patients’ continuity of care. By deploying RelyMD, residents of these rural and underserved communities have help outside of the emergency response teams and are provided a resource they have the ability to connect with on their own for future health care needs.
On-Demand ED Providers
EMS services don’t run on a predictable schedule and often take place during off-hours. With RelyMD, your paramedics are directly connected with actively practicing emergency medicine physicians and physician assistants who are available 24/7 and with less than a 10-minute wait. Our providers can be consulted via video any time of the day or night. With our fully staffed platform, your paramedics have the help they need to reduce inappropriate hospitalizations and readmissions.
Low-Cost, High-Quality
Many times “frequent fliers” or those who use EMS services for non-emergencies often are doing so because they lack access to affordable transportation and/or medical care. Telemedicine through RelyMD provides easy access to high-quality providers and lower costs to address these patients’ medical needs.
“I am much more likely to seek necessary medical care, because of the convenience and accessibility of this service. My experience was completely positive.”