New Zealand Air Ambulance has begun rolling out a healthcare messaging platform by Celo Health to allow immediate and secure communication between its air medical teams and third-party care teams.
The air medical service provider operates the largest air medical fleet in the country with 11 fixed-wing aircraft.
why does it matter
Interacting with every hospital in New Zealand from six bases, NZ Air Ambulance said secure, real-time communication is critical to “enabling rapid coordination and informed decision-making”.
Celo’s messaging platform meets the security requirements of both ISO and HIPAA. Aside from its security features, the solution was also chosen because it is specifically designed for healthcare and is a stand-alone tool rather than an add-on, said NZ Air Ambulance CEO Annabel Toogood.
The biggest trend
In addition, Celo is already being used by some of the third party care teams that NZ Air Ambulance interacts with. They include Age Health Health which operates more than 50 residential aged care facilities and some primary health care services in the country. the organization I first tried Celo last year to ensure communication between employees before the COVID-19 surge. Later, its use was expanded to get physicians and resident hospice partners on board.
“Some of our third-party care teams already use the Celo system and we have ensured that our licensing agreement with Celo extends to other third parties to enable full interoperability, as this is key to patient outcomes,” Toogood explained.
Meanwhile, Cello is now being deployed by Doctors Without Borders in their teams in over 86 countries.