Impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department on reducing transfers from residential aged care facilities

Muhuntha Sri-Ganeshan; Biswadev Mitra; Georgia Soldatos; Rachel Rosler; Neil Goldie; Robert Meek; Madeleine Howard; Michelle Bertolucci; Diana Egerton-Warburton; Rachel Manderson; Vince Luzuriaga; Fergus McGee; Gerard M O'Reilly; Peter A Cameron

doi:10.1111/1742-6723.14481

Impact of the Southeast Melbourne Virtual Emergency Department on reducing transfers from residential aged care facilities

Emerg Med Australas. 2024 Dec;36(6):979-982. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.14481. Epub 2024 Aug 5.

Authors

Muhuntha Sri-Ganeshan^{1

2}, Biswadev Mitra^{1

2}, Georgia Soldatos^{3

4}, Rachel Rosler^{4

5}, Neil Goldie^{4

5}, Robert Meek^{4

5}, Madeleine Howard^{4

5}, Michelle Bertolucci^{4

5}, Diana Egerton-Warburton^{4

5}, Rachel Manderson³, Vince Luzuriaga⁴, Fergus McGee⁶, Gerard M O'Reilly^{1

2}, Peter A Cameron^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Emergency and Trauma Centre, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Medicine, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Department of Emergency Medicine, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ Community, Integrated and Ambulatory Care, Peninsula Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 39099449
DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.14481

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.

Keywords: aged care; models of care; telehealth.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cohort Studies
Emergency Service, Hospital* / organization & administration
Emergency Service, Hospital* / statistics & numerical data
Female
Homes for the Aged* / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Patient Transfer* / methods
Patient Transfer* / statistics & numerical data
Victoria

Grants and funding

Southeast Metro Health Service Partnership