Evaluating the CP@home program’s effectiveness in reducing emergency medical services calls among frequent users

Gina Agarwal’s VIP Research Lab recently published a landmark paper in the field of Community Paramedicine (CP) – the first to rigorously evaluate a CP home visit program in Canada. The Community Paramedicine at Home (CP@home) randomized controlled trial evaluated the program’s effectiveness on reducing emergency medical services (EMS) calls among frequent users.

The CP@home program is an innovative community-paramedic-led primary care intervention delivered in the homes of frequent EMS callers. The frequent callers included those with 3 or more EMS calls in the previous 6-months or 1 or more EMS calls for a ‘lift assist’ within the last month. They completed validated assessments pertaining to chronic disease risks and management, social determinants of health, and health-related quality of life. Participant assessment results were recorded in the CP@home Database that calculated and summarized risk factors from validated tools. The CP@home Database algorithms directed the paramedics to refer participants to appropriate healthcare and community services and/or health education was provided. With consent, the assessment results were sent to the participants’ family physicians.

The RCT results showed that CP@home had a significant impact on reducing EMS calls for those with a lift assist call but not for the overall sample of frequent users. This program filled a healthcare gap by shifting primary care delivery, which could reduce the disproportionate number of EMS calls, thus reducing healthcare costs. Learn more about the study in this infographic.