The Safety and Effectiveness of On-Site Paramedic and Allied Health Treatment Interventions Targeting the Reduction of Emergency Department Visits by Long-Term Care Patients: Systematic Review. (4th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leduc, Shannon; Cantor, Zach; Kelly, Peter; Thiruganasambandamoorthy, Venkatesh; Wells, George; Vaillancourt, Christian
• Is Part Of: Prehospital emergency care. Volume 25:Number 4(2021)
• Page Start: 556
• Page End: 565
• Publication Date: 2021-07-04
• Subjects: long-term care -- emergency medical services -- allied health personnel -- paramedics -- transfer of patients -- hospitalization; 362.18
• DOI: 10.1080/10903127.2020.1794084
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1090-3127

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction: Programs that seek to avoid emergency department (ED) visits from patients residing in long-term care facilities are increasing. We sought to identify existing programs where allied healthcare personnel are the primary providers of the intervention and, to evaluate their effectiveness and safety. Methods: We systematically searched Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE with terms relating to long-term care, emergency services, hospitalization and allied health personnel. We reviewed 11, 176 abstracts and included 22 studies in our narrative synthesis, which we grouped by intervention category. Results: We found five categories of interventions including: 1) use of advanced practice nursing; 2) a program called Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers (INTERACT); 3) end-of-life care; 4) condition specific interventions; and 5) use of extended care paramedics. Among studies measuring that outcome, 13/13 reported a decrease in ED visits, and 16/17 reported a decrease hospitalization in the intervention groups. Patient adverse events such as functional status and relapse were seldom reported (6/22) as were measures of emergency system function such as crowding/inability of paramedics to transfer care to the ED (1/22). Only 4/22 studies evaluated patient mortality and 3/4 found a non-statistically significant worsening. Conclusion: We found five types of programs/interventions which all demonstrated a decrease in ED visits or hospitalization. However, most studies were observational and few assessed patient safety. Many identified programs focused on increased primary care for patients, and interventions addressing acute care issues, such as community paramedics, deserve more study.