AURORA, Colo. – Enhancing its emergency care operations for the community, Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR), in partnership with Aurora911, is launching a service on Feb. 4 to virtually connect certain low-acuity 911 medical calls to emergency physicians.
Through a new service called Aurora Clinical Navigation, calls into Aurora911 that are non-emergent and low-acuity but that may benefit from virtual medical care will have the opportunity to connect with a U.S.-based and licensed physician via phone or video without leaving their home. Treatment will be available for a wide array of conditions, such as mild infections, minor injuries or chronic condition management.
The physician may opt to have prescriptions delivered to the patient, connect them to mental health and crisis support services, or arrange transportation for the patient to a healthcare facility if necessary. Treatment is available for adults, children, seniors and at-risk populations. Services to support nearly 250 languages are available to help bridge communication gaps.
“Enhanced clinical navigation could save patients a trip to the hospital, thereby saving emergency transportation fees and providing faster access to a physician compared to waiting for transportation and triage at the emergency room,” said AFR Medical Director Dr. Eric Hill. “This initiative also optimizes AFR’s availability and efficiency to respond to urgent, critical emergencies.”
The Aurora Clinical Navigation service aligns with AFR’s Right Response approach. Implemented in October 2023, Right Response allows AFR to deploy the best care for medical 911 calls based on scope and urgency, optimizing the agency's availability and efficiency to respond to critical emergencies.
It is anticipated that this service will reduce call volume in the near term by approximately 15 calls into Aurora911 per day, or approximately 1.5 percent of AFR’s overall call volume.
“This program gives us the ability to meet our callers where they are, getting them the help they need more efficiently,” said Tina Buneta, Director of Aurora911. “It is an incredible partnership between Aurora911, AFR and Aurorans to ensure we get the right resources, to the right place, at the right time.”
The service is made possible through an agreement with
MD Ally. The city of Aurora is MD Ally’s first partnership in Colorado, which is among the top five states with the highest average emergency medical services transport mileage annually. MD Ally is also available in Arizona, California and Florida.
“We believe that telemedicine can truly make a difference in the care that patients receive, while reducing the strain on first responders and agencies striving to keep pace with growing populations and increasing call volume,” said Shanel Fields, MD Ally CEO and founder. “By working within the agency’s existing infrastructure, we can ensure that these new telehealth options are easy to access, and the transition to a telehealth response tier is as smooth as possible for both patients and providers.”