The fire department is partnering with Integrative Emergency Services to provide this program that is one of the first in the country involving fire-based emergency response departments, the department stated in a news release.
When paramedics arrive on the scene they can use the program to evaluate nonemergency patients. Paramedics are then connected to a board-certified ER physician who will assist in providing the right diagnosis, treatment and referral options, the release stated.
The goal is to help treat patients while also allowing them to potentially circumvent an expensive and avoidable trip to the emergency room, the release stated.
“The health care world is evolving, and technology is in the forefront, partly out of necessity due to the pandemic,” McKinney Fire Chief Danny Kistner said in the news release. “Telemedicine on 911 calls will allow our highly-trained paramedics to treat the right patient at the right time in the right location."
The program launches Nov. 12. More information about the McKinney Fire Department is available at www.mckinneytexas.org/157fire.
