The Emory Rural Tele-EMS Network (ER-TEMS) willprovide telemedicine services to ambulance crewstreating patients across rural Georgia. The HealthResources and Services Administration (HRSA)awarded ER-TEMS a $1.2 million grant over four years.With this grant, the ER-TEMS team will create asustainable model resulting in improved efficiency ofthe EMS system as well as improved medical care.Early comprehensive telemedicine assessments willreduce unnecessary transports and optimize theutilization of hospital resources to deliver the right careat the right time and the right place.
Ill and injured rural residents of Georgia are at adisadvantage. Prolonged EMS transport times due tolong-distances contribute to worse medical outcomesin time-sensitive critical conditions like strokes, heartattacks, and trauma. Rural Georgians also have anincreased incidence of high-risk medical conditionsleading to complications of childbirth. Worse medicaloutcomes in rural Georgia are linked to the prolongedtime required to transport patients to the closest mostappropriate medical facility.
ER-TEMS Emergency Physicians will be available toperform tele-EMS evaluations for patients residing in 14rural counties of Georgia: Baldwin, Ben Hill, Brooks,Clay, Cook, Decatur, Hancock, McIntosh, Mitchell, Pierce,Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, and Worth.
The ultimate goals of the ER-TEMS program are toaddress disparities in medical care, support rural EMSpersonnel, and enhance access to high qualityhealthcare for rural patients. We expect to achieveimproved medical outcomes for rural Georgians byproviding comprehensive evaluations and treatmentrecommendations at the point of patient contact withEMS. Implementation of this telehealth network in ruralEMS will allow for evidence-based coordinated care forthousands of rural Georgians. ER-TEMS will leveragerelationships with academic, commercial, and publichealth partners to decrease time-to-diagnosis andtime-to-definitive care.
ER-TEMSEMORY RURAL TELE-EMS NETWORK
WHAT?
WHO?
WHY?
HOW?
Computers and remotely linked telecommunicationstechnology will allow for earlier comprehensiveevaluation by Emory Emergency Physicians at the pointof patient contact in rural Georgia. The patients will besafely transported to local facilities for definitive careafter initial stabilization and treatment, in collaborationwith guidance from the on-call tele-emergencyprovider. The Emory Physician will coordinate care withthe most appropriate and closest rural hospital toensure consistent, up-to-date management that occursat the right time and place.
WHERE?
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Michael J. Carr, MD | Project [email protected]
Rachael M. Connor, MBA | Senior Program [email protected]
“The Emory Rural Tele-EMS Network is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial
assistance award totaling $1.2 million with 100 percentage funded by HRSA/HHS and zero percentage funded by non government source(s). The contents are those of Emory University and do not
necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.”
