Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Continuum of Care on WIHI

Madge Kaplan writes:

The next WIHI broadcast — From Prehospital to In-Hospital: The Continuum for Time-Sensitive Care — will take place on Thursday, July 24, from 2 to 3 PM ET, and I hope you'll tune in.
Our guests will include:
  • Kedar Mate, MD, Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
  • David Williams, PhD, Improvement Advisor and Founder, TrueSimple
  • Jonathan R. Studnek, PhD, NRP, Quality Improvement Manager, Mecklenburg EMS Agency (North Carolina)
  • Kevin Rooney, MBChB, FRCA, FFICM, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine; Professor of Care Improvement, University of the West of Scotland
Enroll Now
When it comes to reliability, it’s hard to beat the track record of paramedics and EMTs. Whether it’s speed, knowing just what to do in the event of an accident, serious injury, gun violence, or heart attack, or the amazingly calm and reassuring way emergency responders go about their work, there are plenty of reasons to heap praise on this group of individuals. This also includes how patients are cared for during that ambulance ride to the hospital emergency department.

Could our opinion of EMTs get even higher? Maybe so, now that emergency medical services (EMS) are becoming part of fully integrated health care systems and paramedics are being trained and equipped to initiate even more life-saving and beneficial treatments in the field. This is the evolution we’re going to look into on the July 24 WIHI: From Prehospital to In-Hospital — The Continuum of Time-Sensitive Care.

Our guides — Kedar Mate, David Williams, Johnathan Studnek, and Kevin Rooney — have a compelling story to tell about dramatic changes underway with EMS, not just in the US but globally. The very use of the term “prehospital” reflects new strategies and capabilities to respond more effectively to patients suffering heart attacks, strokes, and traumatic injuries. In a growing number of communities, the suite of possible activities and early interventions have become part of overall best care, continuous with what happens next in the hospital. Patients at risk for septic shock are also being targeted for early recognition and initiation of treatment by EMS staff.

Advances in remote technology and communications are enabling many of the changes taking place with the most urgent types of medical events. But this isn’t the full story. EMS systems are also starting to bring their expertise and sometimes routine care to the bedsides of patients who live in remote rural areas, to elderly patients who are homebound, and to people with behavioral health issues — all requiring medical attention and support, but not necessarily a trip to the hospital​.

We hope you’ll join us on July 24 to learn more and to share your journey with prehospital care. You can enroll for the broadcast here.

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