Email this article Community paramedicine in British Columbia: A virtual response to COVID-19
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced innovative approaches to patient care delivery. The British Columbia Emergency Health Service has worked collaboratively with health authorities throughout the province since 2015 to improve the delivery of healthcare in rural and remote communities through the community paramedicine program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic to minimise the risk to providers and patients, as well as conserve personal protective equipment, home visits and community engagement opportunities were suspended. However, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a large increase in the number of patients referred to the service and so alternate approaches to patient care delivery were urgently required. This commentary outlines the integration of home health monitoring technology into the community paramedicine program within British Columbia as well as the integration of virtual, telehealth consultations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
House A, Roberts J. Telemedicine in Canada. CMAJ 1977;117:386-8.
Khairat S, Meng C, Xu Y, Edson B, Gianforcaro R. Interpreting COVID-19 and virtual care trends: cohort study. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2020;15:18811. doi: 10.2196/18811
British Columbia Central Statistics Agency. Quarterly population highlights. Victoria, British Columbia; January 2020. Report No: 19-04. Available at: www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/data/statistics/people-population-community/population/population_highlights_2019q4.pdf
Island Health Authority. Evaluation of the Home Health Monitoring Expansion Project. Victoria, British Columbia; March 2018. Available at: www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/component/edocman/3482-evaluation-of-the-home-health-monitoring-expansion-project/view-document?Itemid=0
Chauhan V, Galwankar S, Arquilla B, et al. Novel coronavirus (COVID-19): leveraging telemedicine to optimize care while minimizing exposures and viral transmission. J Emerg Trauma Shock 2020;13:20-4. doi: 10.4103/JETS.JETS_32_20
Kang A. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Ministerial Order. Victoria, British Columbia; March 2020. Report No: M085. Available at: www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/mo/mo/2020_m085
Provincial Health Services Authority. Virtual Health COVID-19 Accessible Solution Toolkit. Vancouver, British Columbia; March 2020. Available at: www.phsa.ca/Documents/Trauma-Services/PHSA_VirtualHealthToolkit_031920.pdf
British Columbia Emergency Health Services. Clinical Practice Guidelines Handbook. Vancouver, British Columbia; March 2020. Available at: http://handbook.bcehs.ca
Greenhalgh T, Koh G, Car J. COVID-19: a remote assessment in primary care. BMJ 2020;368:m1182. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1182
Schroeder K, Chan W, Fahey T. Recognising red flags in general practice. InnovAIT 2011;4:171-6. doi: 10.1093/innovait/inq143
Poole L, Brown H, Brooksbank K, Amar C, Verma J. Bridging the gap between patients and providers through telehealth in rural and remote regions [webinar series]. Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement; June 2015. Available at: www.cfhi-fcass.ca/sf-docs/default-source/on-call/2015-06-10-presentation.pdf?sfvrsn=870bde44_2
Martich D. Telehealth nursing: tools and strategies for optimal patient care. New York, New York: Springer Publishing Company; 2017.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33151/ajp.17.813
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Australasian College of Paramedicine © 2020 ISSN: 2202-7270
