Under a five-year pilot program sponsored by CMS, the agency will pay participating ambulance services to transport patients to a primary care physicians office, urgent care clinic or provide treatment utilizing telehealth with a qualified healthcare practitioner onsite.
Once the program is operating fully, patients will have the option to connect with an emergency room physician via telehealth to assess whether they need to come into a facility or if they can be helped virtually.
The program aims to offer patients new healthcare options when they call 911 for non-life-threatening medical issues, and local hospital officials hope the initiative will eliminate overcrowding at emergency departments.
