Envision Healthcare https://www.evhc.net, a national medical group, cares for patients through the latest CMS initiative called Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3. ET3 is a voluntary program intended to make high quality care more accessible and affordable for Medicare patients.
Envision released a White Paper December 2021 discussing ET3. Envision emergency physicians have been working with local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies to triage, treat, and transport patients.
The White Paper on ET3 demonstrates how the program can transform healthcare and provides legislative and regulatory recommendations to support and further develop care delivery. The paper recommends, adoption of ET3 by Medicaid and Commercial Payors, provide for telehealth payment reform, and remove interstate licensure barriers.
As of November 2021, Envision is caring for patients in 11 states by partnering with the ET3 program. Envision has been selected to include four additional states in their coverage by the end of the year.
Through ET3, paramedics and physicians work together to provide the most clinically appropriate care. The evaluation begins when a patient calls 911 and paramedics are dispatched. Participating EMS agencies can consult with a Envision physician via telehealth to evaluate the patient and determine the best clinical care pathway.
If transport to the ED 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 such an urgent care center or rehabilitation facility.
In addition, ET3 is a resource for patients in rural and medically underserved communities where preventative and routine care may be difficult to obtain as 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.
The White Paper is available at https://evhc.net/how-the-et3-program-can-transform-healthcare.pdf