Garland’s RightSite telehealth triage diverts low‑acuity 911 calls, officials say

City fire and dispatch staff briefed council on RightSite, a telehealth triage program the city launched in June to route eligible low‑acuity medical calls away from ambulance responses.

Kiki Weston, communications administrator, described the operational flow: dispatch screens calls by chief complaint; if the call meets RightSite parameters the call taker obtains consent, connects the caller to a RightSite navigator and releases the line so dispatch resources are not held. “If they do take consent to speak into an ER doctor, the navigator takes over and then our call taker disconnects the line,” Weston said. If RightSite determines an ambulance is still required, the city is notified and EMS is dispatched.

Through Aug. 10 staff reported 3,141 medical calls (excluding injury accidents), 97 calls determined eligible for RightSite, 79 transfers to RightSite and 47 handled entirely by RightSite without ambulance response; 32 of the RightSite transfers later returned to dispatch for EMS response. Monthly July data showed RightSite redirected about 65% of activated cases and averaged a dispatch release time of roughly one minute and field release time near 17 minutes for field activations.

Why it matters: staff said diverting appropriate low‑acuity calls reduces ambulance trips and the time ambulances spend tied up at hospital transfers. Fire staff estimated an average cost per EMS response around $1,500–$1,600 and suggested avoiding non‑emergent transports can yield operational savings and improve unit availability.

Patient experience and equity: staff reported an average patient satisfaction score of 10 out of 10 from surveys, and said RightSite served a payer mix that included Medicare, Medicare Advantage, commercial insurance and uninsured patients. Staff also highlighted RightSite’s role in arranging transportation, medications and social‑determinant follow‑ups when appropriate.

Next steps: council members asked for a six‑month update and additional metrics (unit‑hour utilization, redundancy/frequent‑caller rates, district‑level impacts). Staff agreed to return with more comprehensive data after a longer run period.