Impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department on reducing transfers from residential aged care facilities.
Emergency medicine Australasia · 2024-08-05 · Observational study
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department (SEMVED) on transfers from residential aged care facilities (RACFs) to traditional EDs. METHODS: A cohort study of residents requesting transfer to the ED via ambulance within participating health networks' catchments from April to June 2022. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-eight VED consultations occurred with 79% (188/238) avoiding transfer. This represented an avoidance of 12% (188/1511) of all requests for transfer during operating hours. CONCLUSIONS: SEMVED prevented unnecessary transfers and enabled in-facility care. Integration into community outreach programmes could enhance care delivery. Patient safety outcomes were not formally assessed by our methodology.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Nursing & care homes · Cost & cost-effectiveness · Older adults · Telemedicine
Related articles
- Point-of-care blood testing with secondary care decision support for frail patients (Journal of Paramedic Practice, 2022)
- A Virtual Emergency Department Reduces Unnecessary Transfers to Hospital of Residential Aged Care Residents Who Fall With Headstrike. (Emerg Med Australas, 2025)
- Cost analysis of an integrated aged care program for residential aged care facilities. (Aust Health Rev, 2019)
- A pragmatic implementation and outcomes evaluation of the older persons emergency network acute outreach service (OPEN AOS) model utilising the integrated PRISM and RE-AIM framework: the OPEN AOS study protocol. (BMC Geriatr, 2026)
- Value-based health care in mobile integrated health for acute elderly care: A qualitative study of health care professionals in Finland. (Health Care Manage Rev, 2026)
- Embedding a Virtual Emergency Department Pathway Within Emergency Medical Services Secondary Triage for People Living in Residential Aged Care. (Prehosp Emerg Care, 2026)