Tele-emergency utilization: In what clinical situations is tele-emergency activated?

Introduction: Tele-emergency provides audio/visual communication between a central emergency care centre (tele-emergency hub) and a distant emergency department (remote ED) for real-time emergency care consultation. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to examine how often tele-emergency is activated in usual practice and in what circumstances it is used.

Methods: Tele-emergency log data and merged electronic medical record data from Avera Health (Sioux Falls, SD) were analysed for 60,193 emergency department (ED) encounters presenting over a two-and-a-half year period at 21 critical access hospitals using the tele-emergency service.