Texas partnership provides telehealth to rural trauma patients

swyMed has partnered with the Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) to implement telehealth services between Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and rural trauma centers in Texas.

The telehealth project, funded by Texas House Bill 479, aims to bring the medical decision making of trauma surgeons to the ambulance to assess patients and improve outcomes before they reach the hospital. Currently, rural patients are able to be transported up to 90 miles in an ambulance to a hospital. But these facilities often lack the resources required for emergency care. In response, the partnership hopes to reach patients while they are in route.

“Telemedicine technology for emergency management situations, and particularly in rural geographies, requires specialized tools with the flexibility to find and make the most of the available carrier signals,” said Stefano Migliorisi, CEO of swyMed. “swyMed is thrilled to collaborate with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center to demonstrate how real-time virtual care in remote areas can bring the right resources to bear to improve patient outcomes and the efficiency of the health care delivery system.”

The project will focus on trauma, cardia and stroke emergency calls and provide physicians with the tools to observe patients and gain a comprehensive view of the situation to make the most informed decisions. Although the main barrier to providing telehealth services on the road was stated to be internet connection, swyMed’s technology will be able to expand telehealth care to most rural areas.