Mercy Flights, a nonprofit emergency medical service based in Medford, plans to launch an in-home care program in January.
The idea is simple: paramedics treat Medicare recipients and veterans at home, and a doctor weighs in through telehealth if the situation doesn’t rise to an emergency room visit. The goal is to provide quicker, more cost-effective treatment while reducing unneeded hospital visits.
The program is the result of a $350,000 grant from the Ashland Community Health Foundation.
Executive Director Stephanie Roland said they're excited about this new model.
"This is an out-of-the-box idea that is creative and helps potentially solve some access challenges that we have," she said.
Mercy Flights also plans to expand a program launched earlier this year to transport patients to lower-cost urgent care instead of emergency departments when appropriate.
The goal is "improving access to timely, appropriate care for seniors and veterans, while easing emergency department overcrowding by guiding patients to more cost-effective care settings," according to a press release. "Many 911 medical calls involve non-emergent issues that can be safely treated outside a hospital setting."
Roland said transporting a patient to urgent care rather than the emergency department saves insurance providers about $2,500.
Mercy Flights declined to comment for this story. In a press release, CEO Sheila Clough said, “This support is not only a financial investment, it’s a powerful endorsement of the work our team is doing to address a critical gap in health care access and navigation to more affordable care for non-emergent medical needs."
Roland said the year-long pilot program will help Mercy Flights collect data to show cost savings and health benefits to insurers.
She said Mercy Flights currently receives reimbursement only when patients are transported to an emergency room and hopes insurers will begin covering in-home care as well.
