ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service is testing a new telemedicine system in its ambulances that allows a doctor at the hospital to see what’s going on from a paramedic’s point of view — because the paramedic wears a camera on his head.

Right now, two ambulances are equipped with the new technology from OPTAC-X, a Florida start-up. With the camera headset and a satellite terminal mounted on the roof of the ambulance, paramedics and EMTs in the field can communicate with an emergency physician using high-resolution video transmitted over WiFi.

“We used this as part of a pilot study to see how it’s feasible, how well it works, whether it’s valuable to paramedics,” said Dr. Aaron Klassen, an emergency physician and medical director for the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service. . .

During this trial phase, paramedics who have been trained on the system can use their judgment on whether to initiate a video call during calls for service in the Rochester area.

Mayo Clinic ambulances already have telemedicine systems in them, and EMS personnel have long been able to communicate with emergency physicians by radio or phone, said Kate Arms, paramedic and operations manager at Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service in Rochester. But the OPTAC-X option comes with multiple benefits, she said.

“We really have to be in our ambulances for our regular telemedicine devices to work,” Arms said. “The OPTAC-X option, because it works on the satellite (terminal) that is mounted on top of our ambulance, gives us a much better range of connectivity. So I can be in someone’s house or on someone’s block, inside a business, and the headphones still connect.”

At the hospital, the doctor also has some flexibility as to where he takes the call.

“We’ve done this from our telemedicine offices in Saint Marys,” Klassen said, “but it can also be done on our cell phone when we’re in town and available.”

Satellite connection is also beneficial in areas where cell phone service is spotty.

Historically, Mayo Clinic Ambulance has used existing telemedicine technology — hosted on laptops — for less acute patients, such as those who may not need to go to the hospital, Arms said, or those who have need to go but refuses.

“They can have that face-to-face conversation with a doctor to understand all the risks and consequences of not going to the emergency department,” Arms said.

With live video streaming from the paramedic’s perspective, Arms said the OPTAC-X system can also be used in high-stress emergent situations where it might be difficult for a paramedic to simultaneously work on the patient and relay information over the phone or radio. .

“It’s really a special skill that not all of us are perfect at — painting the picture very clearly of what we’re doing and what we want,” Arms said. “This can be very time-consuming if you’re not a clear communicator, or even if you are a clear communicator, but the stress is very high.”

Klassen, Arms, and their colleagues recently

published a case report

in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, which details a call where EMS providers used the technology. That case involved a 65-year-old patient whose heart stopped. Family members performed CPR, and when first responders arrived, they connected with a doctor at the hospital through the OPTAC-X telemedicine system.

“We were able to communicate the details of the event much more easily because the images were right there for the physician,” Klassen said. “Instead of taking a few minutes of time, trying to understand what’s really going on … (the doctor) can take that information more quickly and then help make clinical decisions for that patient.”

In that case report, EMS responders were able to restart the patient’s heart and transport her to the emergency department at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys.

As the Mayo Clinic continues to test the telemedicine system, Klassen said they will tweak things to better suit the needs of emergency personnel before rolling out the technology in more ambulances.

“We’ll probably have to do more redesigns before we look to the next phase, which hopefully could be a larger pilot and maybe (will) involve more sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” Klassen said.

At this point, using an OPTAC-X telemedicine connection during a call does not affect how the patient is billed for services, Klassen said.

Contributed / Mayo Clinic