Envision Healthcare Continues Work to Improve Access to Care Through Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport Initiative

National Medical Group Is Releasing a New White Paper and Sharing Best Practices on How ET3 Can Transform Patient Care

Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, announced it is caring for patients through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) latest healthcare initiative — Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3). ET3 is a voluntary program intended to make high-quality care more accessible and affordable for Medicare patients. Drawing on its experience with ET3 and community paramedicine, Envision Healthcare is releasing a white paper and sharing best practices to improve patient care and outcomes.

“Value-based care is the future of patient-centric healthcare,” said Matt Bush, MD, President of Integrated Markets and Questcare at Envision Healthcare. “Envision Healthcare is leading the change to value-based care by identifying and deploying solutions to provide care when and where it’s needed most. Through the ET3 program, our clinicians are able to meet the needs of patients while removing barriers to accessing care.”

Since the program launched at the beginning of 2021, Envision emergency physicians have been working with local emergency medical services (EMS) agencies to triage, treat and transport patients. As of November, Envision is caring for patients in 11 states in partnership with the ET3 program. The national medical group has been selected to include four additional states in its coverage by the end of the year. Envision’s emergency physicians are skilled at providing high-need, complex care, and many have experience delivering care in the field. Some emergency physicians at Envision also serve as EMS Medical Directors for first responders in their communities.

“As physicians, our goal is to provide the highest quality of care and improve patient outcomes. ET3 supports that effort because the program prioritizes getting patients the right care at the right time in the right place,” said Mark Gamber, DO, EMS Medical Director and emergency physician at Envision Healthcare. “Our medical group is uniquely positioned to share our clinical expertise and telehealth capabilities to improve the health of communities and improve access to affordable, high-quality care for all Americans.”

Through ET3, paramedics and physicians work together to provide patients with the most clinically appropriate care. The evaluation begins when a patient calls 911 and paramedics are dispatched. Participating EMS agencies can consult an Envision physician via telehealth to evaluate the patient and determine the best clinical care pathway. If transport to the emergency department is not clinically necessary, the physician and paramedics can, with the patient's consent, identify whether it is appropriate to treat the patient on-site or transport the patient to a lower-acuity level destination like an urgent care center or rehabilitation facility. These additional care pathways support the appropriate use of EMS resources and improvements to patient outcomes and overall population health.

In addition, ET3 is a valuable resource for patients in rural and medically underserved communities, where preventative and routine care may be difficult to obtain and there can be fewer EMS and hospital resources. In these circumstances, patients may only seek care for urgent medical needs or rely more heavily on EMS to fill gaps in existing systems of care. ET3 can help patients receive more timely care and reduce non-emergent transports, enabling EMS to have more availability for emergency calls.

Envision is releasing a new white paper on ET3, which demonstrates how the program can transform healthcare and provides legislative and regulatory recommendations to support and further develop care delivery, including:

1. Adoption of ET3 by Medicaid and Commercial Payors
2. Telehealth Payment Reform
3. Remove Interstate Licensure Barriers

The full white paper is available here.

About Envision Healthcare Corporation

Envision Healthcare Corporation is a leading national medical group that delivers physician and advanced practice provider services, primarily in the areas of emergency and hospitalist medicine, anesthesiology, radiology/teleradiology, and neonatology to more than 1,800 clinical departments in healthcare facilities in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Post-acute care is delivered through an array of clinical professionals and integrated technologies which, when combined, contribute to efficient and effective population health management strategies. As a leader in ambulatory surgical care, AMSURG holds ownership in more than 250 surgery centers in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with medical specialties ranging from gastroenterology to ophthalmology and orthopaedics. In total, the medical group offers a differentiated suite of clinical solutions on a national scale with a local understanding of our communities, creating value for health systems, payers, providers, and patients. For additional information, visit www.envisionhealth.com.

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