Can Emergency Medical Services Telehealth Prevent Interfacility Transfers in Patients with Chest Pain?

Chest pain is the most common reason for 9-1-1 calls in the United States. Triage of these patients to a local hospital vs tertiary care facility can be challenging. Our objective was to determine whether a cardiovascular telehealth program that connects rural paramedics with emergency physicians could avoid interfacility transfers in patients with chest pain.

We conducted a pilot prospective cohort study of adult patients with chest pain who underwent prehospital telehealth evaluation in a single emergency medical services (EMS) system (2/2021-11/2023). A paramedic completed a structured assessment of each patient, then connected with an emergency physician to complete a telehealth call. The physician reviewed the patient's electrocardgram (ECG), discussed the case with the paramedic, and met with the patient to determine risk for emergent conditions. Transport destination was guided by the following framework: local clinic (during operating hours) for stable low-risk patients, local community hospital for stable moderate-risk patients, and tertiary care center for high-risk patients, an ischemic ECG, or instability. The primary outcome was avoided interfacility transfers. Secondary outcomes included transport destination, avoided emergency department (ED) visits, and patient satisfaction assessed with the Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) score.

During the study, 112 patients were accrued, of which 45.5% (51/112) were female and 9.8% (11/112) were non-white with a mean age of 60 ± 17 years. Among these patients, 67.8% (76/112) were triaged to the local hospital, 19.6% (22/112) to a tertiary care center, 2.7% (3/112) to the clinic, and 9.8% (11/112) refused transport. Telehealth triage resulted in in 9 out of 112 patients (8.0%; 95% CI 5.0-13.0%) adjudicated as likely to have avoided subsequent interfacility transfer and avoided ED visits in 2 out of 112 patients (1.8%, 95% CI 0.0-4.3%). Mean SAPS score was 23.4 (±2.8), consistent with strong overall satisfaction with telehealth calls.

Among rural patients with chest pain, an EMS telehealth program was associated with avoided interfacility transfers and strong patient satisfaction.