As telemedicine gains traction in the EMS setting, many agencies are beginning to look for telemedicine software partners they can use to deliver care while improving their own systems. Let’s look at three ways telemedicine can improve your EMS system.
#1 Cost Savings
One of the most significant cost savings associated with telemedicine is the ability to reduce transport costs. By using telemedicine to provide medical and social guidance to low acuity calls, medics may be able to avoid the need to transport patients to the hospital, saving time and resources. Treatment in place can be particularly beneficial in rural or remote areas, where transport costs can be high. Telemedicine can also help improve the efficiency of EMS agencies by streamlining processes and reducing unnecessary or duplicative interventions. This can help reduce the overall cost of care while improving the quality of care provided to patients.
#2 Reducing Crew Burnout
911-initiated telemedicine can also help to reduce the effects of burnout among medics. By using telemedicine to handle low acuity calls, medics can focus their time and energy on more critical care cases rather than being pulled away from them to attend to less urgent calls. This, in turn, reduces the workload of medics, improving their overall well-being and reducing the risk of burnout.
#3 Improving Patient Satisfaction
High patient satisfaction is a metric many EMS agencies look for to assess the value of care they’re providing, and telemedicine can be a strong tool in the patient satisfaction toolbox. Using telemedicine can help reduce patient wait times and increase access to care, leading to happier patients. In addition, telemedicine can provide patients with more convenient and comfortable care, as they may not need to travel long distances to receive medical attention, which can also increase patient satisfaction scores. Finally, telemedicine can improve communication between patients and healthcare providers, enabling patients to receive more timely and accurate information about their health and treatment options and ultimately help them make more informed decisions about their care.
Telemedicine has the potential to significantly enhance the delivery of EMS through cost reduction, reduced burnout, and improved patient satisfaction. MD Ally offers proven 911-initiated telemedicine software to meet these improvements. Click here to learn how MD Ally can deliver for your agency.
