Should you go to the emergency room? SLO County hospitals offer new option for patients
Tenet Health Central Coast has launched a new tele-medicine service for patients considering whether to go to the emergency room.
The hospital system, which operates Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, has established a new Tele-ER system — allowing patients to tele-conference remotely with a board-certified emergency room physician.
If a patient requires in-person care, diagnostic procedures or lab tests, they will be asked to come into the hospital, according to hospital officials.
Patients can access Tele-ER around the clock by calling 805-546-7990.
Callers first will reach a Tele-ER staff member to register and get started with an emergency room evaluation through a “secure, private and individualized” virtual visit, hospital officials said.
Patients can use internet-connected smartphones, tables and computers with functioning cameras to connect to a doctor.
Health concerns that might prompt a Tele-ER call include rashes, mild upper respiratory infection symptoms, conjunctivitis (pink eye) and and cuts or scrapes, as well as medication refills said Dr. Brad Knox, director of emergency services at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
“Of course, there are specific limitations to an audio-visual platform and, quite simply, a majority of concerns will indeed require a physical evaluation and possible testing for further work-up and evaluation,” Knox said. “But this can help both patients and care-givers for something that remains unique to the Emergency Department during this pandemic: We are still open 24/7 to physically evaluate and treat patient’s emergent and urgent medical conditions.”
Tenet Health cautioned that Tele-ER is an evaluation tool and not a substitute for calling 911.
If a person’s condition worsens quickly or requires immediate attention, “They will be directed to hang up and call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Department,” the company said in a news release.
COVID-19 concerns about emergency room visits
According to hospital officials, people might be fearful of coming to the ER because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“There was a misunderstanding among the public last spring, when they were asked to only come to the ER if it was absolutely necessary, combined with a general fear of hospitals in the wake of this pandemic,” Knox said. “Although the COVID-19-positive numbers steadily grew, heart attack and stroke numbers dropped — and there isn’t anything about COVID-19 that prevents heart attacks or strokes. ER volumes plummeted across the nation by as much as 60%.”
Knox said many people were afraid to seek the medical care they needed, adding that many patients that didn’t seek care got sicker.
When those patients ultimately arrived to the ER, he added, they were far sicker than if they had come to the hospital earlier.
“This is why we piloted this Tele-ER program — as an avenue to allow patients, from the security of their own home, to seek medical care,” Knox said. “We want to make sure that patients who are potentially avoiding care due to fear of COVID-19 are being seen, and we want our community to have access to speaking with emergency-trained providers to help determine if a concern is emergent or not.”
Medicare covers tele-medicine
Medicare now covers Tele-ER visits and the virtual visit cost is typically $20 for Medicare patients, which does not include any follow-up in-person care that may be needed, hospital officials said.
Tele-ER may be eligible for reimbursement from other insurance providers.
Dr. Cinnamon Redd, the director of emergency services at Twin Cities Community Hospital, said the advantage of Tele-ER is that it “provides immediate access for patients.”
“We’re working to keep hospitals operating as efficiently as possible in a rapidly changing environment,” said Mark Lisa, Tenet Health Central Coast’s chief executive officer.
While tele-medicine for urgent care, primary care, and other specialties is common, “this represents the first time this platform is being used through a brick-and-mortar emergency department.”
“If the patient does need to come into the emergency department, more than likely, that person will be seeing the same physician they spoke to on Tele-ER,” he said.
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