Pilot programs aim to reduce readmissions, ER overcrowding

Two pilot programs launching this month as a collaboration between the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care, the Los Angeles Country Emergency Medical Services agency, and the Glendale and Santa Monica fire departments will expand the roles of paramedics in hopes of reducing hospital readmissions and emergency room overcrowding.

The first program will have specially trained paramedics make home visits to congestive heart failure patients who were recently released from the hospital to prevent readmissions. During the visits the paramedics will evaluate the patients’ symptoms and ensure they are taking their medication correctly.

The second program will provide additional training to paramedics to determine if a patient with a less serious medical complaint can be transported and treated at an urgent care center instead of an emergency room. With the patient’s approval, he or she would be taken to an urgent care center, which tend to have shorter wait times.
 
Source: News Medical