Kinsie Clarkson

Change management is hard. Adopting new technology and new workflows can be an exciting process, but that process may also bring hesitance, skepticism, fear, and doubt. It's not easy to change the way you've always done things. 

So when a group of leading experts and clinicians in Victoria, Australia implemented new technology to improve communication between their care teams, they worked hard to make sure that everyone was on the same page. And it worked. They've seen a great deal of success with their strategies, and have successfully developed a streamlined system for making sure everyone on the team has the right information at the right time—a system that their teams now love. 

Becker's Hospital Review recently reported that as of April, 354 rural hospitals in the U.S. are still at a high risk of closing, unless their finances immediately improve. Those 354 hospitals account for almost exactly 25% of all 1,430 rural hospitals in the United States. Every state has at least one hospital with a high risk of closure, though, in states like Oklahoma, that number is as high as 28. 

As rural hospitals look for solutions, some are turning to technology to come up with new and innovative ways to find the funds to keep their doors open. Among the most surprising? Telehealth. 

Patient care involves many moving parts, several teams, and a lot of people. How do you get everybody on the same page, especially when messages have to travel through multiple communication methods before they reach their intended recipient? How do you unite all the disparate teams involved in a patient's healthcare journey—from ambulance to emergency department to specialty teams—into one region-wide system of care? 

Over the last few years, a group of leading experts and clinicians in Victoria, Australia have implemented cutting-edge technology to improve communication between their care teams. They've seen a great deal of success with their strategies, and have developed a streamlined system for making sure everyone on the team has the right information at the right time.  

In this three-part series, you'll hear directly from them on their search for a solution, the results they've seen, and the advice they would offer other systems that want to build their own regional system of care. 

View the full webinar video discussion below, or read on for Part 1 of the full roundtable! (Part 2 and Part 3 can be accessed here.)

While it’s critical that EMS providers stay on top of the latest clinical skills for saving lives, it’s also important to look for ways to improve overall operations, especially as ongoing changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to change the way EMS providers deliver care.

From our free eBook, learn 10 things you need to know about four key operational issues, including interagency cooperation, the expanding role of telehealth in EMS, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore how new innovations in your EMS station can help prepare providers to deliver the best patient care possible, as well as promote the safety and well-being of EMS providers themselves.

It’s an oft-quoted fact that for patients suffering from a stroke, 1.9 million neurons are lost every minute their condition goes untreated. Every minute makes a difference—not just between life and death, but in the patient's quality of life once they survive. Will they be able to walk downstairs? Feed themselves? Communicate with their loved ones?

There are many factors that determine how quickly it's possible for a patient to receive treatment. However, there is one consistent obstacle in the way of getting patients timely treatment: the time it takes providers to communicate vital information to everyone on the team. 

Looking for an excuse to go to Dubai?

Or perhaps you've been wanting to learn more about Middle East healthcare and would love the opportunity to network with global healthcare leaders and influencers (like Pulsara!) — facilitating the continuous advancement of healthcare in the region and the world?

Then look no further than the 2021 Arab Health Conference this June 21-24! In addition to opportunities like exclusive international networking and exposure to the newest state-of-the-art medical technologies and processes, you'll also not want to miss Dr. James Woodson, MD, FACEP, Founder and CEO of Pulsara, as he presents the session 'Enabling Networked Communication: How Innovations in Mobile Technology Can Be Leveraged for Better Quality of Care.' 

Read on to learn more!

With the signing of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11th, CMS will now be allowed to reimburse ambulance services for treating patients in place during the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The measure comes in response to the widespread need for treatment-in-place caused by the pandemic. As hospitals reached capacity and it became clear that not every patient needed transport to the emergency room, many EMS agencies were directed to render services to patients in their homes, avoiding transport where possible. Traditionally, EMS has only been reimbursed for transporting patients to the hospital. 

Rob Lawrence, director of strategic implementation of PRO EMS and executive director of the California Ambulance Association, described the impact of the measure: "Specifically, this waiver would allow CMS to pay for ground ambulance services furnished in response to a 911 call (or equivalent in areas without 911) in cases where a patient was not transported but was instead treated in place in accordance with community-wide EMS protocols."

A Canadian study published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that community paramedicine programs are improving care and outcomes for patients. 

According to researchers Michael J. Nolan, Katherine E. Nolan, and Samir K. Sinha, there is a growing need for a more flexible, sustainable model of care to deliver high-quality healthcare within communities—and in Canada, community paramedics are being recognized as uniquely positioned to deliver exactly that. 

On February 19th, 2021, the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) published a new guideline on Intravenous Thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke. 

The new guideline comes from a study aimed at providing evidence-based recommendations to help physicians make clinical decisions regarding intravenous thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke. Published in the European Stroke Journal, the new guideline is the first in a series of around 10 that are expected to be published in 2021. 

The new guideline makes forty specific recommendations for stroke treatment. The authors of the study outlined the 8 they consider the most important, which are quoted as follows: 

With each new phase of the pandemic comes a new set of challenges, and each new need is significant. From COVID testing and new treatment protocols to contact tracing and mass vaccinations, we must concurrently address all these challenges before the nation can begin returning to a renewed sense of normalcy. Modernizing and mobilizing the tools our nation’s first responders – and those who support them – use is now imperative, as we combat the spread of COVID-19.

On Thursday, April 8, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm MDT, join Pulsara's Vice President of National Accounts, Corey Ricketson, for the session "FirstNet: Tracing and Collaborative Care Coordination." In this session, Corey will discuss how Pulsara's healthcare communications platform is being used by emergency medical personnel to unite distributed teams, enable scalable networked communication, and coordinate patient movement across the continuum of patient care.

Click Here to Register for Free

When COVID-19 spread globally last March, New Zealand reacted quickly. In fact, their shut down was so effective that they were able to have a much shorter period of quarantine than most other countries. They quickly mobilized technology to help pivot and shift toward virtual appointments, utilizing telehealth to help manage patients’ needs.

Though brief, this period still has New Zealand experts looking to the future of health—a future which might just lie in the more strategic use of infrastructure and technology.

Pagers have been a staple in healthcare communication since the 1980s. Small, loud, and easily passed from clinician to clinician, pagers have been the constant companions of doctors and nurses for a long time. And in that time, they've been vital tools for communication. 

They have their drawbacks, but there are a few important reasons why pagers have stuck around for so long. One particular feature in the pager's design has ensured their longstanding usefulness for physicians: The loud, obnoxious alerts.

Why is that important? Pagers interrupt workflow. In a good way.

After a few years of planning and site scouting, Scotland has approved Wester Moffat as the future home of Scotland’s very first digital hospital. 

The new Monklands hospital is projected to open in 2028, and will feature state-of-the-art digital technology. According to Healthcare Global, the design is partly inspired by Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

This is part 5 of our blog series on the Top 5 Challenges in Rural Healthcare. Check out the other posts in this series here.

Rural healthcare has many strengths. With more continuity of care and personal relationships built between doctors and patients, rural clinicians have unique insight into the lives of their patients, helping them make the best possible treatment decisions for their patients. 

Recently, prominent rural healthcare authorities in Georgia and Colorado Springs sat down for exclusive interviews with Pulsara to weigh in on some of the challenges that rural clinicians are currently facing, the strengths of rural healthcare, and some of the innovative solutions they believe can help.

This is part 4 of our blog series on the Top 5 Challenges in Rural Healthcare. Check out the other posts in this series here.

Rural clinicians are some of the most hardworking, dedicated, and caring people you will ever meet. But even the greatest heroes still need support, collaboration, and mentorship. From lack of funding and regulations to patients struggling to access care, rural healthcare providers face a whole host of unique challenges. And unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made many of these challenges even more pressing. As of January 2021, more than 800 rural hospitals are at a high or immediate risk of closure.

With all the other challenges piled on top, rural clinicians may feel more isolated. While the opportunity for a more personal and continuous relationship with patients is greatly rewarding, rural health also often has fewer resources and few colleagues to turn to for a second opinion. Practicing in a rural area can be made more difficult by the lack of a solid support system. 

Last month, Ambulance Tasmania was rocked by the news that a major data breach exposed over two months of records of patients’ sensitive data.

On January 8th, the personal details of every patient who called an ambulance between November 2020 and mid-January 2021 were discovered online. The website’s administrator posted live updates every time paramedics were dispatched, until the webpage was shut down in mid-January. Sensitive health information exposed on the website included patients’ personal details, gender, age, condition, HIV status, and even the address of the incident. Tasmanian officials expressed concern, outrage, and vows to get to the bottom of the matter.

Where did the breach come from?

Pagers.

This past year has been a rough one for many, but perhaps none more so than the courageous physicians, nurses, EMS providers, and healthcare workers who have put their own safety on the line in order to help take care of COVID-19 patients.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hearts are everywhere—heart decorations, heart candies, heart cards, even heart pancakes for the more creative sweethearts. But one of the most important hearts of all too often gets overlooked: Your heart (or your heart health, to be specific)! 

February is American Heart Month: a national event to raise awareness about heart disease and what you can do to decrease your risks. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for Americans, killing over 650,000 people annually. It is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S. each year, and one person dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease (that's heart disease and stroke combined). And that's not just for older adults; heart disease is becoming more and more common in young adults, making it important to learn whether you might be at risk.

During time-sensitive emergencies, sharing data between EMS and the hospital is a vital part of patient care. EMS contacts the hospital via radio report to share information about the patient’s condition and vital signs, letting hospital staff know what to expect when the patient arrives on their doorstep. EMS and the hospital both comply with HIPAA guidelines, and sharing details about the patient’s condition is simply considered an essential part of providing the best possible care for that patient.

But once the patient has been admitted and EMS needs outcome data from the hospital, suddenly the information sharing process isn’t quite as clear. Many hospitals get nervous about the thought of sharing patient data or PHI with EMS agencies.

Why?

HIPAA.