New Emergency Triage Treat and Transport Program for Patients Covered by Medicare

What You Need To Know

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs at Hackensack University Medical Center and JFK Medical Center are participating in a new Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) pilot program.
• ET3 provides greater flexibility to patients and EMS crews to address emergency health care needs of Medicare beneficiaries following a 9-1-1 call.
• Patients with certain injuries and illnesses can choose to be transported to an alternative partner rather than a hospital emergency department, and they can choose to receive telehealth care through EMS.
• These services are only offered for minor injuries and medical problems so there is less risk that a serious condition will be missed.

Responding to 911 Calls More Efficiently

“This program strives to improve quality of care and be more efficient by avoiding unnecessary transport to the emergency department for certain patients with less severe conditions” – Amie Thornton, president and chief hospital executive, JFK Medical Center

There are no additional costs to Medicare participants to use the Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport Program. Patients are responsible for whatever portion of a Medicare claim they would normally have to pay. 

Participation in the Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport Program is completely voluntary, and patients can choose to be transported to the emergency department instead of urgent care or a telemedicine visit.

Patients will only be brought to a type of facility that can provide the type of care they need. If that care is not available in an urgent care center or where the patient is located (home or other setting), they will be brought to the closest appropriate hospital emergency department.