Community paramedicine, ED-CAHPS, and Ebola ? oh my!

This year has been full of interesting healthcare topics worthy of a year-end wrap-up. We start our journey with the idea of emergency medical services (EMS) helping with readmissions and end with one of the world's scariest viruses to date.

Community paramedicine is the idea and operational component in which hospitals partner with EMS providers to check on patients with high-risk diagnoses. This can be done with some creative discharge planning and collaboration. As mentioned in a previous article, reimbursements can be handled on a pay-per-visit schedule or as a percentage of cost savings. Community paramedicine in its various iterations is being successfully implemented across the country, and it's making an impact on patient outcomes. In an effort to move toward population health, it is a powerful tool and market differentiator.

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