The hospital care and outcomes of long-term care patients treated by paramedics during an emergency call: exploring the potential impact of 'treat-and-refer' pathways and community paramedicine.

introductionAdults living in long-term care (LTC) are at increased risk of harm when transferred to the emergency department (ED), and programs targeting treatment on-site are increasing. We examined characteristics, clinical course, and disposition of LTC patients transported to the ED to examine the potential impact of alternative models of paramedic care for LTC patients.

methodsWe conducted a health records review of paramedic and ED records between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. We included emergency calls originating from LTC centers and patients transported to either ED campus of The Ottawa Hospital. We excluded scheduled or deferrable transfers, and patients with Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale of 1. We categorized patients into groups based on care they received in the ED. We calculated standardized differences to examine differences between groups.

resultsWe identified four groups: (1) patients requiring no treatment or diagnostics in the ED (7.9%); (2) patients receiving ED treatment within current paramedic directives and no diagnostics (3.2%); (3) patients requiring diagnostics or ED care outside current paramedic directives (54.9%); and (4) patients requiring admission (34.1%).

conclusionThis study found 7.9% of LTC patients transported to the ED did not receive diagnostics, medications, or treatment, and overall 11.1% of patients could have been treated by paramedics within current medical directives using 'treat-and-refer' pathways. This group could potentially expand utilizing community paramedics with expanded scopes of practice.