Pulsara Blog

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Sarah Calams of EMS1 Frontline Voices. 

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Community paramedics are pioneering new ways to care for mental health patients – here’s how

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, EMS providers have seen an alarming uptick in patients refusing to go to their doctor’s office or the emergency room. Many others – including those with urgent conditions – have even been hesitant to call 911.

“We saw patients who were just foregoing all of their medical care – they were ignoring their emergency conditions,” said James McLaughlin, director of the community paramedicine program at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District in Woodland Park, Colorado.

To ease his community’s fears, McLaughlin introduced a new Healthcare Options Mobility and Engagement, or HOME, program, which pairs an in-home paramedic visit with a telehealth consult by a physician – like Dr. Jeremy DeWall, EMS medical director at Ute Pass Regional Health Service District.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Brittany Norman for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

2020 was a year of pivots.

Movies being released on streaming services and Netflix rather than in theaters. Peloton and home virtual gym sales through the roof. Zoom & Microsoft Teams replacing the office board room. All of these are shining examples of our ability to use technology to adapt during the perilous times of COVID-19. With our need to remain connected while isolated, we saw everything from your cousin’s baby shower to your favorite artist’s concert taking place online.

So what was the answer that Pulsara, a company already based in healthcare communication and connection, had for the sudden need for flexibility that the global pandemic demanded?

Enter: Pulsara PATIENT. 

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. 

In the early 2000s, if you had told someone you could Facetime someone across the world, they would have asked what "Facetime" is. Fast forward to early 2015’s declaration by TechCrunch contributor Tom Goodwin: “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.”

Software is allowing for the decentralization of goods and services and has created an environment that can connect the masses. "Decentralization" refers to the transfer of control and decision-making from one centralized entity to a distributed network. It means your network has become more connected, enabling faster response times. 

The same decentralization is happening with healthcare.

Breakdowns and bottlenecks in healthcare communication systems frequently cause a myriad of delays in patient care. Legacy systems like radios, pagers, fax machines, and multiple phone calls connect clinicians but aren't always able to efficiently get the right message to the right person at the right time. Combined with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, it's clear that our current systems of communication need to be reimagined. Healthcare officials must begin to think differently. 

Your acute care, collaboration, and coordination solution needs to be scalable and flexible, enabling you to adapt quickly to the dynamic needs of patients and clinicians—and span across all organizations involved in patient care. By replacing legacy systems with one solution that covers the entire care continuum, health providers can achieve reduced treatment times, conserve resources, and improve the lives of both patients and caregivers.

When: The evening of April 27 in the USA; 11 AM on the 28th in New South Wales, Australia

Cost: FREE

Registration: Click here to register

Read on for further details!

Editor's Note: The following blog is based on the webinar Plug the Hole! Leveraging Telehealth to Stop System Leakage, sponsored by Pulsara in collaboration with Becker's Healthcare. Their complete list of top takeaways can be found here.

With many health systems still dealing with financial stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to ensure money and market share are not lost to competitors. One way to reduce unnecessary patient transfers and revenue leaving the organization is by using a telehealth and communication platform to connect facilities.

That's what Forrest Winslow, RN, BSED, NRP, Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Pulsara, discussed during a March 23 workshop at the Becker's Healthcare Telehealth Virtual Forum. 

View the full webinar below or read on for the top takeaways you won't want to miss.  

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

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Sarah Calams of EMS1 BrandFocus.

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In the past, the traditional way of thinking as a paramedic was often this: Get the patient in the rig and drive to the hospital as soon as possible to get the patient the care they need.

But what if the patient wasn’t being transported to the right facility?

Imagine: a paramedic recognizes on scene that they are treating a stroke victim. Their first thought is to get the patient to a hospital as quickly as possible. But what if the receiving hospital isn’t equipped or staffed appropriately to treat the patient?

Recently, Joey Branton, Pulsara's Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, had the opportunity to sit down with Brian Zimmerman of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast for a chat about "How Collaborative Mobile Communication Solutions are Transforming Healthcare Delivery." During the podcast, Joey and Brian discuss collaborative mobile communication solutions, as well as how these solutions can overlay existing healthcare tools and save hospitals money. 

Listen to the full podcast in the video below, or read on for their full discussion. 

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.

Wow! Was 2020 a doozie or what? COVID-19 took a toll on our healthcare system, resources, economy, and the way we do business. We survived rolling epicenters of virus surge on a national scale. Needless to say, it’s been a chaotic year. 

Join Pulsara Regional Sales Manager, Northeast, Forrest Winslow, BSED, RN, NRP on Tuesday, March 23 at 1:15 pm CT for the session 'Plug the Hole! Leveraging Telehealth to Stop System Leakage' during Becker's Telehealth Virtual Forum. In this session, Forrest will take you on a journey from EMS to the ED and then to a hub-to-spoke scenario. You’ll see firsthand how these different organizations leveraged a telehealth platform to identify where system leakage was coming from, how they created automatic referral patterns to mitigate patient transfers, and ultimately increased ROI and patient loyalty.

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. 

This is part 3 of our blog series on the Top 5 Challenges in Rural Healthcare. Check out the other posts in this series here.

For rural healthcare providers, delivering high quality care means facing unique challenges that don’t come up in most urban settings. Many of these issues have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well. Access to care, distance, connectivity, and financial hardship are only a few of the hurdles rural health has had to grapple with. 

In the United States, rural healthcare serves one-quarter of the nation’s population. Over the last few decades, special rules and regulations were created with the aim to help rural residents get better access to care. However, some of these regulations have become counterproductive, doing more harm than good for rural patient care. 

This is part 2 of our blog series on the Top 5 Challenges in Rural Healthcare. Check out the other posts in this series here.

From access issues to finding funding, rural healthcare faces a variety of unique challenges. As COVID-19 swept the nation, many of these challenges have only intensified. Chief among these challenges is covering the high costs associated with continuing operations.  

Recently, prominent rural healthcare authorities in Georgia and Colorado Springs sat down for exclusive interviews with Pulsara to weigh in on these challenges, as well as some of the innovative solutions they believe can help. 

In this 5-part blog series, we will explore each of the top 5 challenges that rural healthcare currently faces, and how new technology could be key to solving some of them. Today, we'll discuss the second major challenge: Funding. 

Country backroads. Limited cell service. A population that is spread across great distances and often doesn’t have effective health insurance. For rural healthcare providers, delivering high quality care means facing unique challenges that don’t come up in most urban settings. 

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

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Preparation, vigilance and taking care of your mental health will be key strategies as we move forward

As 2021 begins, COVID-19 vaccines have recently been approved, and it appears that the beginning of the pandemic’s end is in sight. That said, we are still experiencing large spikes throughout the country, and hospitals and EMS systems are under immense strain.

We aren’t quite on the other side, but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are 10 things we’ve learned from the pandemic that can help improve other areas of EMS response: