TelEmergency program extends reach Mississippi wide

Published on Monday, September 18, 2023

The Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) aims to improve rural areas' access to specialty acute services that typically would not be available to them. As part of this project, Emergency Medicine's telehealth program layers acute specialty services onto our established TelEmergency/TeleER consultation process to improve access to emergency care. Initially, we focused on services that are particularly limited resources in our state - stroke, behavioral health, and toxicology. The ultimate goal with the layering of these services is to create a virtual extension of the expertise available at UMMC and to expand the services available to patients in rural areas, thus minimizing the number of patients requiring transfer from their local hospitals. In addition to improving access to care for patients in their communities, this could impact the financial sustainability of rural hospitals, which are struggling in the current healthcare environment. 

By working collaboratively with the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and the Division of Medical Toxicology, at UMMC, we established a workflow for the specialty tele-consults offered through this project. We began Tele-Toxicology and Tele-Behavioral Health consultation services at all 20 TelEmergency spoke sites in November 2021. After additional training for all TelEmergency spoke and hub personnel, Tele-Stroke consultations began in August 2022.

To date, the majority of acute specialty consultations have utilized Tele-Stroke, though all acute services have been well-utilized and have decreased unnecessary transfers from local, rural hospitals. Overall, 33 Tele-Stroke consultations have occurred, with transfers avoided in four of those consults. Tele-Behavioral Health has been utilized in 15 consultations with six transfers avoided, and Tele-Toxiciology was utilized for 16 consultations with nine of those consults resulting in transfers avoided.