COLLINS: NDP commits big money to another healthcare experiment
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THE NDP, LAST WEEK, announced major funding for a project they hope will help reduce the number of closures at smaller ERs. The plan would kick off at four hospitals — Princeton, Lillooet, Clearwater and Nakusp. These hospitals are less busy, so it’s a good place to experiment. The program is nicknamed IH LINK-ED. (Just what you need — another buzzword to add to your list of things that waste time).
Here’s how it’s supposed to work. At each of the four communities, one doctor will be on duty at their own hospital but will be linked by videoconferencing to the other three hospitals. No problem if patients come into the hospital where the doctor practices. Another walk in the park.
But here’s the major weakness. In the three non-staffed hospitals, a triage nurse is relied upon to determine the level of care a patient needs and tell the doc who they should see first. The ER nurse would probably have to be in on the call, because the doctor would have questions before making a diagnosis. So we have this nurse, probably run off their feet, dealing with one and maybe more patients, trying to determine who has the more serious injuries without having the benefit of using more sophisticated equipment. Now let’s add in the noise of the ER. Monitors of other emergency hospitals in the group, where patients are perhaps in worse shape than the patient being treated. How does the doctor deal with this?
You know what’s sad here? Unlike most NDP efforts, with a bit more planning and effort, this plan might get some traction. But not like it’s set up now. It’s a creative start but the communication component still needs fleshing out. There are so many ways this can crash and burn.
