Pulsara Blog

EDITOR'S NOTE: This podcast originally aired on Becker's Hospital Review on December 8th, 2022. You can find the original post here. 

When a health system is looking for ways to improve patient care, there are a lot of factors to consider. How will new solutions affect existing workflows, and how will they reduce time-to-treatment for patients? 

In this Becker's Healthcare podcast episode, host Marcus Robertson sits down with Kate Leatherby, Sales VP - West, at Pulsara to discuss what challenges health systems are looking to overcome with Pulsara, how the platform overlays a health system's current workflow, what innovative ways seasoned customers are leveraging the platform to improve patient care, decreasing time to treatment, and more. 

Check out the podcast and read the full transcript of the interview below.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teller County, Colorado, had a successful community paramedicine program in place. But as the pandemic hit the U.S., they knew they'd need to leverage new tools to continue treating their patients. Fire and EMS leaders partnered with Pulsara to enhance their community paramedicine program with telehealth. Since then, the program has evolved into a thriving partnership between EMS and a local organization of board-certified emergency physicians, allowing them to work together via telehealth to help address healthcare disparities and improve access to care in rural areas.

In a recent webinar, EMS leadership in Teller County, Colorado, shared their experiences around building the program, and how they are using telehealth as a force multiplier to preserve resources while also better meeting the needs of their community. Here are 7 top takeaways from their experience. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teller County, Colorado, had a successful community paramedicine program in place. But as the pandemic hit the U.S., they knew they'd need to leverage new tools to continue treating their patients. Fire and EMS leaders partnered with Pulsara to enhance their community paramedicine program with telehealth. Since then, the program has evolved into a thriving partnership between EMS and a local organization of board-certified emergency physicians, allowing them to work together via telehealth to help address healthcare disparities and improve access to care in rural areas.

In a recent webinar, Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS Medical Director at UCHealth Pike's Peak Regional Hospital, and James McLaughlin, Director of Community Paramedicine at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District, shared about their experience with building the program, and how they are using telehealth as a force multiplier to preserve EMS resources while also better meeting the needs of their community. 

How Fire and EMS Leaders are Turning Telehealth into a Force Multiplier for Improved Response & Patient Care

What if you could turn your fire and EMS crews into force multipliers, empowering them to help reduce healthcare disparities, improve support around behavioral crisis patients, and even bring back and modernize the traditional “house call”? And what if by doing so you could free up much-needed EMS and hospital resources, help make fire and EMS a more integral part of the patient care continuum within their community, and help patients get the care they need faster, more affordably, and more efficiently?

Learn how Colorado EMS leaders set up a regional system of care to do just that—built around Pulsara, a secure, mobile-first telehealth, communication, and logistics platform. Hear tangible takeaways and cutting-edge insights that you can apply to your own organization, including why and how they set up this system in the first place; how the program is financially sustained; what kind of data-driven results and benefits they’ve seen for patients and providers; and discussion on the new 988 mental health hotline and how it can integrate into this cutting-edge system of care.

Webinar Event Details

Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Time: 1:00 PM ET | 12:00 PM CT | 11:00 AM MT | 10:00 AM PT

Host: Fire Engineering

Cost: FREE

While it’s essential that EMS providers stay on top of core clinical skills for the most critical calls, such as sudden cardiac arrest and airway management, it’s also important to keep up with the skills to address issues you may not see as often. From treating burns to managing pain in pediatric patients to responding to mental health calls, new information on best practices can help you hone your practice. 

In partnership with EMS1, Pulsara is releasing a free eBook collection of popular "10 Things You Need to Know" articles, with recent input from EMS professionals on subjects that can help improve clinical practice and save money for EMS organizations. 

GET THE GUIDE - Closing the Gaps: Plug Holes in Your Skillset and Cracks in Your Budget

Editor's Note: This article was first posted on Becker's Hospital Review. Check out the original version here. 

The past two years have seen fast-paced innovation transform many parts of healthcare systems around the world. While some progress has been made around the interoperability of data systems, many care teams continue to use antiquated technologies to convey crucial patient information to one another, including linear communication tools like pagers, radios, and fax machines. Not only are these tools not connected, but if the chain breaks once, we've negatively affected a patient's outcome—either with a significant delay or in some cases, mistakes that generate more patient harm.

During a featured session at Becker's Hospital Review's Shift to Digital Virtual Event sponsored by Pulsara, Joey Branton, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Pulsara, discussed why bringing broadband connectivity to patient-related communication is crucial to the future of healthcare innovation.

Watch the 30-minute replay below, or read on for the session's four essential takeaways. 

2023 UPDATE: As reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Please be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Cole Zercoe, for EMS1 BrandFocus.

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Here’s how your agency can use telehealth and community paramedicine to deliver more personalized care to patients

Community paramedicine, mobile integrated healthcare and ET3 are rapidly becoming hot topics in EMS as the profession evolves, especially as the long tail of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates issues like ambulance turnaround times.

As ambulance agencies worldwide struggle with long waits at the ED, it’s become even more vital to find solutions to issues like ED overcrowding and long wall times. Community paramedicine, MIH and ET3 possess the unique ability to reduce transports while simultaneously improving care for patients.

Here’s a look at 10 ways EMS agencies can use telehealth and community paramedicine to deliver high-quality care to patients, some of the advantages of implementing such strategies, and how the ET3 model supports this approach.

The newly expanded platform allows healthcare teams to support toxicology and overdose patients via telehealth and improved communication. 

Bozeman, Mont., April 20, 2022 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth, communication, and logistics platform that unites healthcare teams and technologies across organizations during dynamic events, recently released a dedicated toxicology and overdose patient type that easily connects everyone required for each patient case—from EMS and hospital teams to the poison center and even behavioral health. 

With this new dedicated functionality, everyone along the patient care continuum can collaborate securely and instantly, avoiding multiple reports and phone calls. Teams can leverage instant messages, live group video and audio calling, images, audio clips, flowchart notes, and template-driven recommendations, all without a single landline phone call. Pulsara puts consultants, toxicologists, and poison centers on the frontlines through the platform’s instant visual communications to identify a venomous snake or mystery pills, assess a strange rash, or even interpret an ECG.

Pulsara even enables first responders to treat in place when appropriate, equipping EMS with direct communication with hospital clinicians, toxicology or overdose specialists, or even behavioral health experts. Such unified communication helps facilitate unnecessary ED visits and saves time and resources for the care system while providing a better experience for the patient. 

The newly expanded platform allows first responders and healthcare providers to support behavioral health patients via telehealth and streamlined transfers. 

Bozeman, Mont., March 22, 2022 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth, communication, and logistics platform that unites healthcare teams and technologies across organizations during dynamic events, recently released a dedicated behavioral health patient type allowing EMS crews, hospital teams, and other healthcare organizations to better support behavioral health patients. EMS or other first responders can now directly connect with behavioral health facilities, teams, or individuals through live group video and audio calling to receive help in determining the most appropriate treatment for the patient. For teams working with patients who need enhanced behavioral health services, this new patient type helps streamline placement to a more appropriate facility. Utilizing this new functionality on the Pulsara platform, clinicians can quickly facilitate appropriate real-time treatment for patients, help relieve overcrowded healthcare facilities, and save time, money, and resources by avoiding unnecessary and extended ED visits.

Pulsara assists healthcare organizations by enhancing their communication experience during a patient encounter. We offer the ability to communicate important information about a patient's status through a variety of ways, including traditional phone calls, text-based messaging, and video/voice calls through Pulsara Calling.

The past two years have done a great deal to redefine the shifting identity of EMS. COVID-19 changed a lot about how we provide care, and some of the solutions we came up with have led to a watershed of self-discovery. With that, though, comes an equal number of questions. What does the shifting landscape of healthcare mean for EMS? What will the role of EMS be going forward? As the identity of EMS evolves and medics are given more agency, will they be able to help find solutions for problems like overcrowded emergency departments, while also giving patients both a better and more appropriate care experience? 

Corey Ricketson, Pulsara's Vice President of Strategic Accounts, recently had the opportunity to discuss these and other hot topics in EMS with Chris Cebollero on The Inside EMS podcast, hosted by EMS1. Corey shares his experiences visiting multiple EMS agencies throughout the country, as well as some top takeaways from how leading EMS agencies are finding solutions to issues like ED overcrowding. Chris and Corey talk community paramedicine, how EMS needs to adapt for the future, the importance of meeting patients where they are, and how interoperability, connection, and communication should be a main focus for EMS agencies.

Listen to the podcast below, and read on for part 2 of the interview! (If you missed part 1, check it out here.)

The past two years have done a great deal to redefine the shifting identity of EMS. COVID-19 changed a lot about how we provide care, and some of the solutions we came up with have led to a watershed of self-discovery. With that, though, comes an equal number of questions. What does the shifting landscape of healthcare mean for EMS? What will the role of EMS be going forward? As the identity of EMS evolves and medics are given more agency, will they be able to help find solutions for problems like overcrowded emergency departments, while also giving patients both a better and more appropriate care experience? 

Corey Ricketson, Pulsara's Vice President of Strategic Accounts, recently had the opportunity to discuss these and other hot topics in EMS with Chris Cebollero on The Inside EMS podcast, hosted by EMS1. Corey shares his experiences visiting multiple EMS agencies throughout the country, as well as some top takeaways from how leading EMS agencies are finding solutions to issues like ED overcrowding. Chris and Corey talk community paramedicine, how EMS needs to adapt for the future, the importance of meeting patients where they are, and how interoperability, connection, and communication should be a main focus for EMS agencies.

Listen to the podcast below, and read on for part 1 of the full interview! 

EDITOR’S UPDATE: The ET3 program is mentioned throughout the below interview. Please note that, as reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives and are unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

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What if you could keep hundreds of low-acuity patients a week from having to needlessly go to the emergency room? With a scalable system of care, Austin-Travis County EMS is doing just that. In just three weeks, they kept 434 low-acuity patients out of the hospital—rerouting them to faster and more appropriate care via their ET3 clinic partner agency and the telehealth communications and logistics platform Pulsara.

Recently, Commander Steve White and Dr. Carlos Navarro presented a webinar to share their experience with creating the C4 unit, walk through a case study, and offer tangible takeaways and cutting-edge insights. If you haven't yet had the chance to catch up on the conversation, check out part 1 and part 2.

Read on to hear from Commander White and Dr. Navarro as they host a Q&A, answering audience questions about their system, how it works, and how its principles can be applied to other organizations. 

What if you could keep hundreds of low-acuity patients a week from having to needlessly go to the emergency room? And what if, by doing so, you could reduce or eliminate the challenge of slow turnaround times, free up much-needed EMS and hospital resources, and help patients get the care they need faster, more affordably, and more efficiently?

Austin-Travis County EMS is doing just that. With a scalable system of care, they kept 434 low-acuity patients out of the hospital in just three weeks—rerouting them to faster and more appropriate care via the interconnected support of their ET3 clinic partner agency and the telehealth communications and logistics platform Pulsara.

On October 19th, Commander Steve White and Dr. Carlos Navarro shared their experience with creating the C4 unit, walked through a case study, and shared tangible takeaways and cutting-edge insights that you can apply to your own organization today.

Check out part 2 of their presentation below! (If you haven't yet had the chance to read part 1, check it out here.) 

Telehealth Communications and Logistics Platform Honored for Improving Healthcare Delivery

BOZEMAN, Mont., Nov. 8, 2021 — Pulsara, the leading telehealth, communication, and logistics platform that unites healthcare teams and technologies across organizations during dynamic events announced today that the company has received a 2021 Telehealth Award from prominent healthcare technology news source HealthTechZone.com. The award recognizes companies innovating and improving health delivery and management towards exceptional customer experiences.

“On behalf of TMC and HealthTechZone, I would like to congratulate all of the Telehealth award winners,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “Every year I am so impressed by each winning company’s dedication to quality in solutions that benefit the overall customer experience—while driving ROI for companies that use them.”

Editor's Update: The ET3 program is mentioned throughout the below interview. Please note that, as reported by JEMS.com on 6/28/23, the federal government is ending the ET3 program. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “This decision does not affect Model Participants’ participation in the Model through December 31, 2023.” Read the full article on JEMS for more details: ET3 Program Comes to an Abrupt End. Be advised that Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine are separate initiatives and are unaffected by the ET3 program termination.

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What if you could keep hundreds of low-acuity patients a week from having to needlessly go to the emergency room? And what if, by doing so, you could reduce or eliminate the challenge of slow turnaround times, free up much-needed EMS and hospital resources, and help patients get the care they need faster, more affordably, and more efficiently?

Austin-Travis County EMS is doing just that. With a scalable system of care, they kept 434 low-acuity patients out of the hospital in just three weeks—rerouting them to faster and more appropriate care via the interconnected support of their ET3 clinic partner agency and the telehealth communications and logistics platform Pulsara.

On October 19th, Commander Steve White and Dr. Carlos Navarro shared their experience with creating the C4 unit, walked through a case study, and shared tangible takeaways and cutting-edge insights that you can apply to your own organization today.

Check out part 1 of their presentation below! 

Editor's Note: On August 11th, EMS1, Fitch & Associates, and the National EMS Management Association released their fourth 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. Today's entry is written by Pulsara's very own Chief Marketing Officer, Kris Kaull.

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As COVID-19 continues to shape the landscape of healthcare, many profession-altering changes are here to stay. The most impactful of these is the paradigm shift to the “connected worker.”

While this may be a new term in healthcare, it has been covered extensively in manufacturing. As Natan Linder wrote in Forbes, “For years, we interpreted poor manufacturing outcomes to poor human performance (as much as 70% of mistakes in factories occur on human-centric processes). But things changed with the fundamental insight that humans aren’t actually the problem. Badly designed or overly complex work systems are.”

Healthcare faces even greater challenges. There was a time where a healthcare professional may have shined based on their clinical expertise alone. But this is no longer the case. I met with a neurologist in Seattle who told me that she makes, on average, 17 phone calls before she sees a stroke patient. Consider the time-sensitive tasks and coordination that need to be completed by a team in order to properly treat a critical patient: multiple phone calls, pages, answering services, handwritten notes, and radio communications.

Teller County, CO develops a first-of-its-kind telehealth program using Pulsara as the backbone for rural health communications

BOZEMAN, Mont., August 16, 2021 — Pulsara, the leading mobile telehealth, communication, and logistics platform that unites healthcare teams and technologies across organizations during dynamic events, published new details on Teller County, Colorado’s groundbreaking community paramedicine and telehealth program. Reporting on their initial challenges, the solutions they found, and results, the “911-INITIATED TELEMEDICINE: Next-Level Patient Care for Rural Colorado” case study reveals a new pathway forward for EMS agencies across the globe.

As COVID-19 escalated across the country in early 2020, EMS and hospital leaders in Teller County, CO identified that residents were reluctant to seek care—for any condition—at the hospital. “Up to 40% of our EMS volume does not want to go to the hospital once 911 arrives,” said Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS Medical Director for the Teller region. “Looking at our numbers, the fear was that we were missing a large group of people who were without healthcare or afraid to go to healthcare because of COVID-19.” 

Leveraging their already thriving community paramedicine program, Teller County’s Ute Pass Regional Health Service District and Emergency Medical Specialists, PC set in motion a new 911-initiated telemedicine program, utilizing Pulsara’s telehealth capabilities to address the acute needs of the community. 

Mental health is a growing need around the world. Over 50 million people in the United States alone—1 in 5 adults—are dealing with mental health issues. And the trend extends to all ages; 1 in 6 young people in the U.S. between the ages of 6 and 17 struggle with mental health. Living through a global pandemic has only made matters worse. In May 2021, Children's Hospital Colorado declared a state of emergency for pediatric mental health. 

Over the past few years, Ute Pass Regional Health Service District in Teller County, Colorado, has set out to improve care for mental health patients. They built a top-tier community paramedicine program uniquely trained to respond to mental health calls. They also equipped their community paramedics with Pulsara, a healthcare communications, telehealth, and logistics platform. The result is a dynamic program that meets mental health patients where they are.