Telemedicine Solutions Can Help First Responders Decrease Unnecessary Hospital Admissions

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

First responders in Texas are using telemedicine to classify real emergencies and cut back on unnecessary hospital admissions.

Admissions In Houston

The University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston conducted a study in 2013 examining the use of emergency departments in the area. They found that 39.7 percent of emergency department visits by Harris County residents could be classified as primary care needs, in that they included primary care treatable, non-urgent, and primary care preventable visits. The numbers were similar for the previous two years.

According to Kaiser Health News, anecdotes from firefighters tell a similar story. It’s common to find stories of 911 calls for weeks-old spider bites, lacerations, colds, and paper cuts. Of 318,000 incidents logged in 2014, only 13 percent were actual fires. The remaining were medical calls. According to ambulance driver Tyler Hooper, “We make a lot of runs to where it’s not an emergency situation. And while we’re on that run, we hear another run in our territory, it could be a shooting, or a cardiac arrest, and now an ambulance is coming from further away, and it’s extending the time for the true emergency to be taken care of.”

Hooper attributes the misuse of 911 to a lack of understanding of walk-in clinics, community misinformation, and a lack of insurance.

Addressing The Issue

To combat misuse, Houston officials have launched a program that connects residents with doctors via EMTs and responding firefighters.

The solution involves a computer tablet with an app that allows for video chat. When launched, a doctor, stationed in the city’s emergency management and 911 dispatch center 20 miles away, appears on the screen. The responding technician can then allow the doctor and patient to communicate. In many cases, it’s determined that an ER visit wasn’t necessary.

The initiative is known as Project Ethan (Emergency TeleHealth And Navigation) and was rolled out city-wide in mid-December. The primary goal of the project is to take some of the weight off of emergency departments and free up ambulances, EMTs, and nurses being unnecessarily tied up with non-emergent cases.

Beyond Houston

Other cities have tried out similar programs — some of which identify “super-utilizers” via data analysis, who then receive help arranging services and transportation — a service known as “community paramedicine.”

The program has cost Houston $1 million a year, but they expect to see much greater savings with time.