Community paramedics fill gaps, take load off EDs.

In a continuing effort to ease demand on busy EDs, some communities are coming up with new ways to leverage paramedics. Under a three-year pilot program in Raleigh, NC, a select group of paramedics with added training are being used to assess patients with mental health or addiction problems and transfer them to alternative facilities when appropriate. In Robbinsdale, MN, a community paramedicine program is filling in care gaps for patients with chronic diseases and other complaints who are at risk for repeat ED visits or inpatient hospitalizations. * Administrators of the Raleigh, NC, program say that in 2013, paramedics diverted more than 300 patients to alternative facilities. Of these, only 20% to 25% need further transport to the hospital. * Every time the NC paramedics divert a patient from the ED to an alternative facility, they return an estimated 14 bed-hours back to the ED. * In addition to responding to patients with non-urgent needs, the Robbinsdale, MN, community paramedicine program is a referral source for ED physicians who are concerned about follow-up care for patients who have presented to the ED with medical problems that require ongoing attention.