NYC Health + Hospitals’ Virtual ExpressCare Prevented Over 12,000 Unnecessary FDNY Ambulance Transports To Nearby Hospitals

The NYC Health + Hospitals' Virtual ExpressCare platform helped New York City's emergency medical services (EMS) prevent over 12,000 calls for emergency care from needing emergency transport. People who call 911 with a low acuity health need, such as respiratory infections, rash, or medication refill, are transferred within 30 seconds to speak with a health care professional in a telehealth assessment instead of to actual emergency services.

For this system, when a person calls 911, the 911 operator assigns an acuity-based response level—high-acuity (ambulance dispatch) or low-acuity (311 for questions or triage for telemedicine). For . . .