It's a familiar story in American health care: people getting their primary medical care from a hospital emergency room instead of a primary care physician.
The air and ground ambulance service Mercy Flights teamed up with Jackson Care Connect to try a new approach in Jackson County.
And the pairing got a grant to test the theory. It worked: people who got regular visits from paramedics in non-emergency situations cut their ER visits in half. More than half, actually (56%). Doug Stewart of Mercy Flights and Anne Alftine of Jackson Care Connect visit to give the details on the program, and how the findings can be used.