Digitech Sponsors EMS Industry Speaker at Community Paramedicine Conference

May 1—Digitech, a provider of EMS billing and technology, has announced that the company will be sponsoring Lieutenant Kevin Spratlin of the City of Memphis Fire Department to speak at the Atrium Health 2018 Community Paramedicine Conference. The educational event, held May 7-8 in Charlotte, North Carolina, is aimed at promoting community-based healthcare. Lt. Spratlin is one of a select group of speakers covering topics that support the event’s mission.

Lt. Spratlin’s presentation, “How Memphis Fire Uses Data and Innovation to Navigate Patients to Better Care,” will address the department’s strategy for managing its large non-emergency EMS call volume. Lt. Spratlin leads the Healthcare Navigator program, which includes several initiatives geared toward helping low-acuity patients access the most appropriate healthcare resources. For example, in the City’s RADAR (Rapid Assessment Decision and Redirection) pilot program, for those calls deemed non-emergent by 911 dispatch, a vehicle is sent to the location staffed with a paramedic and a doctor, rather than dispatching an ambulance. The team makes a medical assessment at the scene to determine if emergency care is necessary; if not, they will advise and assist the patient with a different course of action, such as booking an appointment with a primary care doctor or providing transportation to a clinic.

“The results have been encouraging so far,” said Spratlin. “By providing services through the Healthcare Navigator Program, we alleviate the strain on the city’s finite EMS resources, improve throughput in hospital emergency departments, and decrease the cost of care to the healthcare community.” The program involves a collaboration with IBM through the Smarter Cities Challenge initiative, which provides analysis and consultation to reveal patterns in the City’s 911 calls and assess the City program’s effectiveness over time.

Digitech has provided EMS billing services to the City of Memphis Division of Fire Services since 2010. “We are honored to sponsor Lt. Spratlin’s presentation, and we share his priority of allocating the right resources at the right time through innovative, technology-based solutions,” said Mark Schiowitz, President and CEO of Digitech. Several members of the Digitech team will be joining Lt. Spratlin for the Atrium Health Community Paramedicine Conference.