SIOUX FALLS, S.D.(KELO)- A 20-million dollar investment is paying big dividends for the state of South Dakota, in the area of Rural Telemedicine.
It’s called the Telemedicine in Motion program, and the state Health Department says it has transformed emergency medical services across the state.
EMS and Trauma Administrator Marty Link says the idea was to create a pioneering concept never tried before in the U-S.
The bid to create the system was won by AVEL E-Care of SIoux Falls.
We’ll hear about some of the ways it’s making a huge difference in rural areas of South Dakota.
Emergency Medical Technicians are a critical link between patients in need of care and medical centers that can provide that care.
In South Dakota, over 80-percent of those EMT’s are volunteers.
Link says the two-year old Telemedicine in Motion program is providing live video assistance to emergency responders as they rush their patients to the hospital.
Link says EMT’s never have to be alone with a patient in an ambulance alone again.
It’s like having a physician in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
That’s the idea behind South Dakota’s two-year old Telemedicine in Motion program.
Link says it has dramatically improved the effectiveness of emergency response, and neighboring states are taking notice.
Telemedicine in Motion began when the Governor and Legislature approved a 20-million dollar initiative to improve rural access to advanced health care.
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