Rapid Specialist Connection Improves Outcomes in Cardiovascular Emergency Care: Results of teh 2022 Human Network Pilot Project
A pilot project focused on rapidly connecting specialists to patients experiencing severe cardiovascular events demonstrated significant improvements in time to treatment,according to an evaluation of its 2022 performance. The “Human Network pilot Project,” designed to expedite care for conditions like acute myocardial infarction (AMI) adn stroke, leverages a dedicated, rapid decision-making platform to facilitate quick details exchange and specialist referral.The project involved a network of participating institutions achieving high rates of specialist availability – 84.4% and 95.9% for specialists specifically. Evaluation of time from paramedic arrival to the initiation of definitive treatment revealed an average of 10 hours and 36 minutes for hemorrhagic stroke, with 100% of patients receiving final treatment within 24 hours. More critically, the platform significantly reduced time to treatment for time-sensitive conditions: final treatment for ischemic stroke began within an average of 2 hours and 48 minutes of on-site paramedic arrival, and for AMI, within an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes.These results were achieved while maintaining adherence to established “Golden Time” benchmarks – 3 hours for ischemic stroke and 2 hours for AMI – with 52% of ischemic stroke patients and 48% of AMI patients receiving care within these critical windows.
The rapid decision-making platform proved highly effective in connecting patients with appropriate specialists. 97.8% of patients referred through the platform were successfully connected with a treating medical staff member, with specialists responding to requests in an average of 4 minutes and 36 seconds. The time to establish this connection varied between networks, ranging from a minimum of 24 seconds to a maximum of 19 minutes and 42 seconds. 93.9% of patients arrived at a medical institution and began final treatment within the appropriate timeframe.
Throughout 2022, the platform facilitated 1266 requests for specialist consultation, resulting in 1006 accomplished matches. A significant majority of these matches (781) occurred within 15 minutes, with 95 occurring within 5 minutes and 631 between 5 and 10 minutes.
The project is supported by government subsidies, with preliminary funding provided in may 2025, March 2025, and March 2024. Based on the positive evaluation results, further funding will be allocated for the first year of operation. A total of 6.18 billion won is allocated for network-to-network collaboration, with individual networks receiving between 450 million and 750 million won based on performance. An additional 2.63 billion won supports the human network component,with each of the 49 networks eligible for a minimum of 16 million won,contingent on evaluation outcomes. These subsidies are intended to cover labor costs for personnel involved in the pilot project.
Lee Hyung-hoon, Second Vice Minister, emphasized the importance of timely treatment in emergency cardiovascular care and highlighted the pilot project as a viable solution for reducing treatment delays and improving patient outcomes. the government intends to continue and refine the pilot project to further strengthen essential medical care services.
