Study demonstrates economic benefits in equipping paramedics to support patients with palliative care needs in their homes, when appropriate.
A new study has demonstrated that at-home palliative care by paramedics not only supports patient preferences and saves paramedic time, but also saves money. An estimated $2,773 is saved per 9-1-1 call when paramedics provide person-centred care in the homes of people living with cancer and other life-limiting conditions.
These figures, along with other findings, were shared in a research article published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine in July 2024, which analyzed data from the Paramedics and Palliative Care: Bringing Vital Services to Canadians initiative. This initiative was led by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) and Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC), in collaboration with healthcare providers across Canada.
Launched in 2011 in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Alberta, the program was later expanded to Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. It has trained more than 7,500 paramedics to date.
Some of the benefits of the Paramedics and Palliative Care initiative include:
- 60 per cent of 9-1-1 calls resulted in people being treated at home instead of being transported to the emergency department (compared to 90 per cent of 9-1-1 calls typically resulting in emergency trips);
- paramedics saved an average of 31 minutes per visit by treating palliative patients at home compared with transporting them to the emergency department;
- a return of $4.60 for every one dollar invested in the program; and
- over 92 per cent of surveyed patients and families were satisfied with the care they received by paramedics.
The initiative took on added significance during the COVID-19 pandemic as healthcare systems tried to keep patients out of hospital whenever possible.
“The Paramedics and Palliative Care initiative responds to patients who told us that they want to be at home at the end of their lives,” says Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO of HEC. “This study shows that this approach delivers better value for the health system while improving care for patients and their caregivers.”
“The positive impact of the Paramedics and Palliative Care initiative is a testament to the commitment and collaboration of 7,500 paramedics and 200 healthcare providers across the country,” says Dr. Craig Earle, CEO of CPAC. “We are proud to see the results of the initiative. With the continued leadership of partners and paramedics services, we look forward to seeing this approach to palliative care applied within and beyond the cancer care system.”
“Our analysis of the initiative showed that enabling trained paramedics to provide palliative and end-of-life care at home helps palliative patients by reducing the time and stress of hospital visits,” says Jean-Éric Tarride, the lead author of the study and Director of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis based at McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. “By implementing this initiative more widely, emergency departments would be less congested, and paramedics would spend more of their time directly caring for patients rather than being tied up waiting to transfer patients into hospital care.”
Learn more:
Tarride, J.E., Stennett, D., Coronado, A.C. et al. Economic evaluation of the “paramedics and palliative care: bringing vital services to Canadians” program compared to the status quo. Can J Emerg Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-024-00738-9
Paramedics and Palliative Care: Bringing Vital Services to Canadians
Paramedics treating patients’ palliative needs at home benefits everyone
About Healthcare Excellence Canada
Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) works with partners to spread innovation, build capability and catalyze policy change so that everyone in Canada has safe and high-quality healthcare. Through collaboration with patients, caregivers and people working in healthcare, we turn proven innovations into lasting improvements in all dimensions of healthcare excellence. Launched in 2021, HEC brings together the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement. Learn more at https://www.healthcareexcellence.ca.
About the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
As steward of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (the Strategy), the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer works with provincial and territorial ministries of health and their cancer programs, First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and organizations, health system leaders and experts, and people affected by cancer across Canada to implement the Strategy to improve cancer outcomes for all people in Canada. Learn more at https://www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca
