Telehealth has proven itself essential during the pandemic, allowing patients to get care without risking exposure to COVID-19. In March, Dr. Dan Carlin saved a construction worker’s life via FaceTime and showed how crucial instant access to medical professionals can be, Changing America reports. While waiting for the ambulance, the coworker performing CPR was able to FaceTime the emergency doctor, who walked him through the steps and instructed them how to use a defibrillator. Once the EMTs arrived on scene, the man had a weak pulse but was alive. He later recovered and returned back to work. The company was able to contact the doctor because they had signed up for Job Site Care, founded by Carlin, which allows workers to call 24/7 whenever there is an accident.
Telehealth and telemedicine have been a long time coming, but their ubiquity has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, when a construction worker collapsed in the parking lot of their construction site, their telehealth doctor was on standby ready to assist until an ambulance arrived. And that may have saved his life.
About a year ago, the Florida construction company set up telemedicine services with Job Site Care, founded by emergency physician and former Naval officer Dan Carlin. Job Site Care sets up a phone line that connects each construction site with a dedicated full-time physician, nurse practitioner and administrators. Workers at the site can call whenever there is an accident or injury. Because the construction sites are typically in isolated areas, calling a doctor first can, in some cases, help avoid a long trip to the nearest hospital.