Mount Sinai Health System in New York City recently became the first health center in the region to offer telehealth services to patients who call 911 for medical assistance with low-acute injuries and health conditions.
This service, a collaborative effort initiated by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division at Mount Sinai in partnership with its Department of Emergency Medicine, forms part of a national pilot program known as Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3).
The Mount Sinai Health System dispatches ambulances in response to 100,000 emergency calls annually. Around 10 percent of these calls involve patients with low-acute risk health conditions or minor injuries or patients who need their medication replenished or need to be transported to a doctor’s appointment. Patients with these issues don’t need to visit an emergency room, but EMS is required to take them there.
The new ET3 program aims to find alternative methods of treating these low-risk patients so that they don’t need to visit an emergency department, saving them time and also expensive medical bills.
Medical director of the Mount Sinai Hospital EMS group Dr. Kevin Chason said, “This program is exciting because it’s a new and innovative way for EMS to deliver patient care where they are and connect them to services they need without having to come to the emergency department. 911 is no longer equal to an emergency department visit.”
With this new ET3 program, when a patient calls 911 and an ambulance dispatched from Mount Sinai arrives on the scene, paramedics and emergency personnel will assess the patient to determine whether they require emergency care. If the patient does not need emergency treatment and meets certain criteria, the medical crew will use tablets to link with the Mount Sinai command center. The patient will then be immediately
connected to a healthcare professional for telehealth care in real time. This service is offered 24/7.
Currently, nine out of Mount Sinai’s fleet of 19 ambulances offer ET3, and they connect with emergency departments at several Mount Sinai medical care centers. However, there are plans to equip all ambulances with this service by early 2023 and expand telehealth services to include all seven emergency departments across the Mount Sinai Health System.
Going forward, the ET3 program will expand to offer more than telehealth services. It will also be used to help patients get to a Mount Sinai Urgent Care facility for further treatment should a visit to the emergency department not be required. ET3 can also connect patients with behavioral healthcare services and help them find a facility that can provide the care they need.
ET3 has been initiated as a five-year pilot program but is expected to continue beyond the pilot stage and expand to include EMS services at all health systems operating in New York City.
The Mount Sinai Health System
With a network of eight hospitals employing over 43,000 medical staff, the Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest healthcare systems in New York City. Mount Sinai has more than 400 outpatient practices and around 300 laboratories, as well as a school of nursing and a leading school of medicine.
The Mount Sinai Health System advances health care for everyone, everywhere by tackling some of the most challenging healthcare issues we currently face by discovering and applying scientific research and knowledge; finding safe and effective new treatments; providing quality education to future generations of medical specialists and innovators; and supporting local communities with high-quality health care.
Mount Sinai Health System’s integrated network of hospitals, laboratories, and schools provides comprehensive healthcare solutions for everyone, no matter what stage of life they are in. The network consists of around 7,300 primary care and specialist physicians, 13 outpatient surgery centers run in partnership with other healthcare institutions, and over 30 affiliated community health centers. Its hospitals consistently make the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll. It is ranked first in the
Geriatrics division and the top 20 for multiple health specialties. Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital is ranked as one of the Best Children’s Hospitals in the country for a range of pediatric care specialties. Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine consistently ranks in the top 20 of the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Medical Schools, while Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York City and in the top 5 globally. Mount Sinai’s new ET3 pilot program and associated telehealth services will ensure more people can get access to affordable high-quality care.