Paramedic PapersHome Operations & systems Community paramedicine cut hospital admissions in cluster RCT
Operations & systems
Community paramedicine cut hospital admissions in cluster RCT
Effect of the CP@clinic program (Community Paramedicine at Clinic program) on health care utilization from administrative data during and after the intervention: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Frontiers in Health Services · 2026-10-15 · Added 31 October 2026
A Canadian cluster-randomised trial across 30 low-income apartment buildings found the CP@clinic community paramedicine program was associated with lower hospital admission rates during (aIRR 0.75) and after (aIRR 0.82) the trial, with no difference in ED visits.
- Study type
- RCT
- Design
- Cluster-randomised controlled trial with repeated cross-sectional analysis
- Participants
- 30 apartment buildings across five Ontario communities
- Main finding
- Hospital admission rates were lower in intervention buildings during the 12-month trial (aIRR 0.75) and the following year (aIRR 0.82); primary care visits fell then rose post-trial; ED visits unchanged
- Caveat
- Analysis used linked administrative data in a low-income older-adult housing population, so effects may not generalise
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). A Canadian community paramedicine model in social housing; some Australian services run similar programs, but it is a different service model from emergency response.
Learning goal
Understand how community paramedicine programs in community settings can reduce hospital admissions for vulnerable older adults.
More
- Topic: Operations & systems
- Daily scan: 31 October 2026
Related papers on Operations & systems
-
Facial recognition helped paramedics ID unknown patients
In a US double-blind randomised simulation study, 90 firefighter-paramedics using a cloud facial-recognition app identified a noncommunicative standardised patient far more often than controls (83.3% vs 21.4%, OR 13.87).
-
Fewer ultrasound frames preserved remote B-line detection
A US deep-learning evaluation of 1,844 lung ultrasound clips found 5-frame clips kept B-line sensitivity within 0.7 points of 32-frame clips (89.4% vs 90.1%) while cutting package size 84%, easing transmission over weak transport links.
-
Drone AEDs arrived first in two-thirds of arrests
A Chinese-led bibliometric and scoping review of 168 drone and eVTOL emergency medical services studies found drone-delivered AEDs arrived before ambulances in 67% of cases (median lead 3 min 14 s) and drone blood delivery cut transport time by 61%.
-
Ambulance infection control hinges on human factors
An Australian modified nominal group technique with ten experts ranked human factors — organisational culture, compliance fatigue, inconsistent education — above equipment provision as the main drivers of infection prevention and control compliance in ambulances.