Community Paramedicine Program for Older Adults Reduced Number of 911 Calls, Improved Health

A randomized controlled trial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at CP@clinic, a community-based health promotion program from McMaster University offered by paramedics in low-income, subsidized apartment buildings in Ontario, Canada, reports News-Medical . The study compared buildings receiving the weekly drop-in health program for seniors for 12 months, in addition to usual healthcare and wellness programs, with buildings that only had usual healthcare and nonparamedic wellness programs. CP@clinic provides blood pressure, diabetes, and falls assessments, along with identification of high-risk individuals, referral to healthcare, and health education. It is unique in that it supplies continuous reports back to family doctors. The buildings offering CP@clinic had significantly fewer emergency ambulance calls versus buildings that did not offer the clinics, adding up to 22 percent fewer calls. The clinics detected undiagnosed hypertension in 52.5 percent of participants and elevated blood pressure in 54.7 percent with previously diagnosed hypertension. After attending CP@clinic, average blood pressure for participants with hypertension fell significantly. "We estimate that an average of 10-11 calls per 10 apartment units could be avoided each year with programs like this," says McMaster's Dr. Gina Agarwal. "We think that the difference in ambulance calls in the short term was due to improved healthcare access, linkage to healthcare resources, and knowledge about when to access these services."