For Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH) near Melbourne, Australia, streamlining communication has been a major area of focus, both to improve patient care and to strengthen collaboration across its healthcare system. Up until the beginning of 2020, they used a combination of phone calls and pagers to interface among Emergency Services, ED, and hospital staff—resulting in inefficiencies and challenging communication for caregivers.

While the world has dealt with the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19, the healthcare community has had to deal with many unique challenges. Coming up with and implementing procedures to protect both patients and staff from possible exposure to the virus is a tricky process, especially when in some locations, hospitals have also been dealing with patient surges. Keeping up with routine scheduled visits and elective procedures then becomes even more difficult. As a result, telemedicine has become commonly used for patient care visits and follow up appointments. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their third annual EMS Trend Report, proudly sponsored by Pulsara. Because the articles and advice found within contain such critical subject matter, we've elected to publish each segment one at a time here on our blog. Read, enjoy, share, and take to heart the following information brought to you by the most prestigious thought leaders in EMS.

About the Author: Rob Lawrence is the principal of Robert Lawrence Consulting. He previously served as the chief operating officer of Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California. Before that, Rob was the COO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. Rob is a former board member of the American Ambulance Association and currently serves as chair of its Communications Committee and a member of the media rapid response task force.

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Examining how the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and reimbursement are impacting prehospital medicine, and how leaders can care for the workforce

This data for this year’s EMS Trend Report was collected in 2019 B.C. – before COVID-19. At the time, we didn’t know what was just round the corner. This year’s report provides a real indicator of the circumstances and challenges we have already seen in the COVID-19 era. As EMS staff were the first warriors into the battle and onto the front line, mental health, post-traumatic stress injury and burnout have elevated to the top of the chart.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their third annual EMS Trend Report, proudly sponsored by Pulsara. Because the articles and advice found within contain such critical subject matter, we've elected to publish each segment one at a time here on our blog. Read, enjoy, share, and take to heart the following information brought to you by the most prestigious thought leaders in EMS.

About the authors: Jay Fitch, PhD, is a founding partner of Fitch & Associates and is internationally recognized for leadership as a consultant, educator and innovator in EMS and public safety.

Anthony Minge, EdD, is a senior partner at Fitch & Associates. Prior to joining the firm, he was the business manager for Northwest MedStar in Spokane, Washington.

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, PROVIDER RESILIENCY AND PREPAREDNESS: INTERPRETING THE EMS TREND REPORT 2020

EMS leaders anticipated a linear progression in 2020 – managing a slight increase in call volume and reimbursement, while trying to become more efficient and otherwise hold down costs. COVID-19 certainly changed the definition of normal, and perhaps how EMS will evolve in the future.

The EMS Trend Report asks a number of questions each year to ascertain industry perception of a wide variety of key issues and related trends, from measures used to track cardiac arrests, to clinical interventions, ePCR satisfaction, use of lights and sirens for 911 responses, budget changes, and the degree to which agencies are prepared for disruptive events.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all groups of humanity. No matter where you live, what you do, or what your situation is, everyone has been impacted by the pandemic. For many people, COVID-19 has meant some pretty significant lifestyle changes. 

So far, we have done a good job of thinking and talking about how the pandemic has impacted healthcare workers, public safety workers, and working professionals. There is one group, however, that I haven’t seen much attention devoted to: our kids. 

This is part 2 of our 5-part blog series based on the webinar “The Next-Gen Communication and Telehealth Plan of Action for Your Hospital.” Check out part 1 here. Watch the corresponding section of the webinar below, or listen to the full webinar here. 

Over the last four months, COVID-19 has forever changed the landscape of healthcare. Telehealth has experienced explosive growth since March, creating groundbreaking changes in telemedicine regulations and reimbursement opportunities. Prior to four months ago, only a small minority of systems utilized telehealth in beyond three to five percent of their appointments. Since the start of COVID-19, telehealth has grown to millions of claims in less than a few months. According to a published stat, the number of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth services during the pandemic increased 11,700%. 

Looking at a graph of telehealth’s "hockey stick" growth is astonishing. For many years, there was no substantial change. March 2020 marks the shift between the blue and red growth markers. Telehealth shot from near non-existence to millions of claims practically overnight. 

As EMS agencies all over the country have struggled to handle COVID-19, many are searching for answers. How do we prepare for possible future waves of COVID-19? Outdated technology cannot keep up with the variety of new challenges. Is there a way to streamline communication and use mobile technology to solve problems and still deliver high-quality patient care? Could such a solution be flexible and scalable, able to handle any situation—even a pandemic?

When COVID-19 hit, Austin-Travis County EMS, serving the Austin, Texas area, had the tools at their disposal to build an efficient system to help mitigate the crisis. They embraced mobile technology in an effort to improve communication, minimize the risk of exposure to healthcare providers, and continue to provide patients with the smartest and most effective quality of care.

This 5-part blog series is based on the webinar “The Next-Gen Communication and Telehealth Plan of Action for Your Hospital.” Watch the corresponding section of the webinar below, or listen to the full webinar here. 

Telehealth and telemedicine have gone through dramatic changes over the last four months, far more than many of us dreamed possible. Regulations and reimbursement are evolving rapidly, which has opened up the door to many new opportunities for using telehealth. Telehealth is helping us improve both the quality and the value of the care that we deliver to our communities. 

However, all this change will almost certainly have wide-reaching implications for your health system, especially in the acute care space. Over the next five posts in this series, we’ll discuss the rapidly shifting landscapes of telehealth regulations and reimbursement and how you can navigate them. We’ll also dive into some of the questions surrounding how to best leverage telehealth in the acute care space.

As the summer progresses, more and more cities are experiencing a spike in their numbers of COVID-19 cases. The second wave of the coronavirus is closing in, which means that the remainder of this summer is vital. Now is the time to prepare for the challenges of the months ahead.

A new telehealth solution is an excellent way to plan ahead. Telehealth can greatly expand patient access to essential health services, ensuring that providers can continue to give them high quality care from a distance. Recently, the CDC came out with an article explaining how a secure telehealth solution can set a medical practice up for the best possible results in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

I recently read an article that interviewed doctors from San Francisco who volunteered to work on the front lines of the pandemic in New York. They warn that while many states are reopening and life seems in some ways to be returning to normal, it can be easy to forget that COVID-19 is still spreading and still deadly. Pandemic fatigue is setting in, but the fight is far from over. 

At Pulsara, we're committed to helping your organization recover from the initial COVID-19 wave, and prepare for current and future cases. One such way we're striving to equip care teams is by publishing thought leadership and real life examples of how other health systems have successfully managed COVID-19 and its widespread effects.

When COVID-19 hit the U.S., Pulsara client Cy-Fair Fire Department was prepared. They immediately put protocols in place to help mitigate the spread, which they are continuing to use and refine, and even put together a few informational videos to help other EMS agencies. Read on to learn how Cy-Fair was able to prepare for the first wave, and what they are currently doing to manage and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by leveraging innovative technologies and systems.

On January 23^rd, while the world was watching the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis overseas, the command staff at the Cy-Fair Fire Department met to plan their response. Headed up by Assistant Chief Justin Reed and Communications Chief Angela Burrer, the group began to discuss the threat they knew they were about to face. 

With a service area covering 156 square miles and a population of approximately 475,000 people, the Cy-Fair team knew the potential impacts for the area were enormous. Clear communication was going to be important, they decided, so after that initial meeting, they chose to schedule daily morning video/phone briefings for all on-duty personnel and recorded them for those that were on a response. 

As the virus slowly advanced towards the United States, Cy-Fair staff recognized the logistical concerns of providing appropriate clinical care, recognizing patients early, being mindful of overtriage, and managing personal protective equipment and force protection. They made it a priority to plan accordingly.

By utilizing a free funding resource, healthcare and public safety organizations can more quickly and easily meet their recovery and preparation goals.

On May 26th, NAEMT hosted a webinar roundtable discussion featuring three distinguished medical directors to discuss how their organizations have been handling triage and transportation decisions during COVID-19, what processes they’ve put in place, and how they hope to continue these practices in the future. Watch the full webinar below, or continue reading for our top seven highlights.

As EMS agencies all over the country have struggled to handle COVID-19, many are searching for answers. How do we prepare for possible future waves of COVID-19? Outdated technology cannot keep up with the variety of new challenges. Is there a way to streamline communication and use mobile technology to solve problems and still deliver high-quality patient care? Could such a solution be flexible and scalable, able to handle any situation—even a pandemic? 

When COVID-19 hit, UCHealth Memorial Central and the Colorado Springs Fire Department were more ready than they anticipated. They had already put in place a communication solution that would enable them to better manage and mitigate the crisis. Though the pandemic brought unprecedented challenges, Colorado Springs used Pulsara to remedy many of the communication issues created by COVID-19. They were able to provide faster, safer patient care by improving care team communication and collaboration across organizations. This is their story.

Privacy, Safety, and How Telehealth Technology Could Be the Answer

COVID-19 causes tension between pandemic mitigation measures and patient privacy

One of the most pressing questions to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the issue of patient privacy. The latest of many questions about patient privacy involves who has the right to know who has the virus, and when—specifically, EMS and first responders.

A few weeks ago, NPR reported on what’s becoming a national debate: whether or not first responders should be told when a call that is not about a potential case of COVID-19 occurs in a home that has one.

Since COVID-19 began spreading in the United States in March, emergency departments have seen a sharp decrease in the number of STEMI and stroke patients coming through their doors. For almost two months, polls and anecdotal evidence have suggested that this is happening all over the country, as well as in countries like Spain, the UK, and China. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology decided to conduct a formal study of nine major hospitals across the U.S. On April 7th, they released the results, confirming with statistical evidence what doctors have been experiencing: on average, the nine hospitals saw a 38% reduction in cath lab activations for STEMI patients.

Recently, the Journal of Emergency Medical Services interviewed Pulsara's Chief Marketing Officer Kris Kaull for his thoughts on the future of EMS and the need for improved communication in healthcare. Read the full article here. 

On April 28th, JEMS Webcasts hosted an enriching webinar featuring a distinguished panel of EMS leaders discussing how their organizations are using mobile technology to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they plan to use those same technologies in the future.

On Tuesday, April 28th at 10:00 PT / 11:00 MT / 12:00 CT, JEMS Webcasts will host a webinar on how EMS leaders are using mobile technology to manage the COVID-19 crisis. 

Why double down on a broken system that hasn’t worked for disasters, active shooter incidents, or large-scale events? In the largest pandemic of our lifetime, learn how clinical leaders in both Texas and Colorado are using mobile technology to not only manage the COVID-19 crisis, but also lay the foundation for the new reality of EMS, including Mobile Integrated Healthcare, Community Paramedicine, and Telehealth.

Why has the healthcare system resisted telemedicine as a solution for so long? 

Telemedicine offers a world of opportunity for innovation and improvement in healthcare communication. Clinicians can use it to assess patients remotely, advise medical care without having to be on-site, and consult with one another to bring patients the highest possible quality in medical care. We rely so heavily on technology in every other area of life, it seems counterintuitive that old, outdated technology dominates the industry where saving time can save lives. 

Up until now, that potential has mostly gone untapped. Why?