Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

First Advisor

Kauffman, Russell

Keywords

Tele-Emergency, Medicine

Abstract

The purpose of this literature review was to examine patient outcomes with the use of teleemergency medicine. Tele-emergency medicine serves as a tool to expand the healthcare team in rural facilities by connecting them with specialized providers, typically via video conference call, for assistance in surge or low-staff situations, or for guidance in more complicated cases that rural providers might typically transfer to a larger hospital. A benefit of adopting a teleemergency medicine service is that it can shorten time to care and reduce the need for transfers, thereby reducing associated costs. The question arises as to whether patient outcomes are improved as well, or if the limitations of telemedicine lead to lower quality of care. For this review, databases such as PubMed and Embase were used to compile current research on the topic. The results of this study suggest that the quality of patient care improves with the use of tele-emergency medicine. This is demonstrated by measures such as a decrease in medical errors and positive reviews from medical staff. Discharge status appeared to be affected by using teleemergency medicine, resulting in increased admissions, decreased discharges, and decreased transfers.

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