A Canadian Rural Living Lab Hospital: Implementing solutions for improving rural emergency care

Abstract

Introduction More than 6 million Canadians live in rural areas (approximately 20% of the population) and emergency services are a critical safety net for them. Objectives We want to create, in Baie-Saint-Paul (rural emergency department, Québec, Canada), an experimental milieu where all stakeholders develop, implement and evaluate solutions to address the problems that beset their environment. Method The Living Lab will rely on the quadruple aim approach to improve health system performance and will use a multimethod approach based on the philosophy of open and user-driven innovation. Three pilot projects will be implemented (quality of work life programme, computed tomography implementation study and telemedicine in ambulances). Other possible solutions will be evaluated and prioritised (in situ simulation, care protocol, telemedicine, point-of-care ultrasound, helicopters and drones). Conclusion We are confident that this Living Lab will contribute to saving lives, will improve the quality of work life for rural healthcare professionals, and will inspire similar innovation internationally.

Rural Living Labs: Inclusive Digital Transformation in the Countryside

“…Another example is Zavratnik et al (2019), who evaluated the possible contributions of LLs to sustainable rural development and argued that the element of community and social change should be considered as a key element in enabling sustainable living. There have also been attempts to consider RLLs as an experimental milieu where various partners and rural residents develop, implement, and evaluate solutions to address problems that affect their environments (Fleet, 2020). Hence, to date there are no studies that have investigated RLLs from a constructional perspective that aims to define the key components supporting local pilots for DT.…”

Bridging the Gap in Rural Emergency Care: A Scoping Review of Living Lab Hospitals and their Potential in Rural Healthcare

“…This article presented a plan to design and implement a Living Lab in a rural hospital (30 beds, 13 000 ED visist/year) located in Baie-Saint-Paul (Québec, Canada). It proposed a concept whereby "transformative, user-designed, point-of-care solutions would be co-developed, implemented and evaluated in a sustainable and scalable way" [23]. The paper justi ed the use of the living lab methodology and described how speci c pilot projects, inspired by several years of rural emergency care research, would be implemented alongside local stakeholders.…”

Development of the Aerial Remote Triage System using drones in mass casualty scenarios: A survey of international experts

“…One of the main benefits of the use of drones is that they avoid endangering rescuers [3][4][5][6] in cases of shootings, fires, radiation or the presence of infectious agents, explosives, smoke or gases [7,8]. Drones are widely used in health emergencies because they can cover large distances in a short time and access places where rescuers had trouble reaching [9,10], for example, rural environments [11].…”