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concept art of telemedicine cart covered in cobwebs from disuse

“Build It and They Will Come”—Or Will They?

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Over the last few years, as the COVID-19 pandemic ran its course, we’ve all watched as telemedicine players Teladoc and Amwell acquired smaller entities in their bids to build all-in-one telehealth provider solutions addressing acute care, mental health, and chronic condition management—practically everything, it seems. In contrast, swyMed has focused on working closely with clients to customize technology to meet their specific needs and integrate with their existing systems, such as telestroke and emergency transport. Now, as we sift through the data, it is becoming clear that giant “one-size-fits-all” programs are not the panacea they claimed to be; instead, with increasing emphasis on patient engagement, healthcare organizations want personalized technology platforms that mesh with their current structure for ease-of-use among both patients and providers.

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EMTs treating patient on-site

How to Save $10 Billion Annually with EMS 4.0

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) pilot program was launched to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of patients beyond a hospital’s walls, particularly in ambulances “in the field”, with the goals of delivering health care services more efficiently and reducing unnecessary Emergency Department (ED) visits. The program was designed to align the incentives for EMS services so patients were treated in the care setting that made the most sense, i.e., EMS would be paid for providing mobile health care rather than only after transporting a patient to the ED. Five years later, with Americans more than comfortable receiving care via telemedicine, the health care industry is well-positioned to expand these services on a wider scale as video-enabled EMS 4.0, saving potentially $10 billion annually across the nation.

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