317-417-4573
MIH CoordinatorMIH Spotlight: Monticello Fire Department (AARP)
About Mobile Integrated Health
Indiana's EMS personnel are the bridge connecting public safety, public health and health care. They respond to nearly 1 million calls each year and remain the state's front line of medical treatment and care. In recent years, in Indiana and around the country, Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) has been a growing, innovative approach to how the EMS system works as part of the overall public health system.
MIH is a patient-centered model of care delivered in a patient's home or in a mobile environment. This includes teams that come to patients as well as the use of telehealth platforms. Community paramedics can visit patients at their home and assist with health screenings, vaccinations, treatments and follow-ups. MIH can also include social work, substance abuse resources, mental health, chronic disease management and more.
Legislation in 2019 and 2020 has propelled MIH forward in Indiana, and the Indiana EMS Commission is working to provide guidance and structure to communities seeking to create their own community paramedicine programs in the future. More than a dozen Indiana communities have already established community paramedicine programs using private or grant funding.
Become an approved MIH program
MIH Spotlight: Monticello Fire Department (AARP)
MIH Advisory Committee
The EMS Commission is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of an effective system of emergency medical services, and it has established the Mobile Integrated Healthcare Advisory Committee. Visit the MIH Advisory Committee page for more information, including upcoming meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Mobile Integrated Health (MIH)?
MIH is a patient-centered model of care delivered in a patient's home or in a mobile environment. This includes teams that come to patients as well as the use of telehealth platforms. Community paramedics can visit patients at their home and assist with health screenings, vaccinations, treatments and follow-ups. MIH can also include social work, substance abuse resources, mental health, chronic disease management and more.
For more information on MIH, see the 2017 presentation The Role of EMS in Our System of Health Care.
- How new is Mobile Integrated Health?
In 2019, Indiana enacted a law allowing the Indiana EMS Commission to establish and define Mobile Integrated Health Care, also known as community paramedicine, in the state. Thirty-three other states have adopted similar systems to provide supportive services and resources to patients who come in contact with EMS teams.
More than a dozen Indiana communities have established community paramedicine programs using private or grant funding. A bill passed in 2020 decoupled reimbursement and transportation by EMS to provide a wider range of funding sources that coincide with more proactive treatment during emergency runs.
- What are the benefits of Mobile Integrated Health?
Among the measured benefits experienced nationally with these programs are decreased admissions to the hospital, decreased costs of treatment to patients, better integration of EMS into the health care system and increased savings to commercial insurance companies. It may also reduce nonemergency 911 calls that otherwise would tie up emergency services.
- What does a Mobile Integrated Health visit look like?
It depends on the agency, but a community paramedic may spend the workday out of the office on home wellness checks. These home visits can last from 10 minutes to two hours, as the paramedic may be providing checkups or taking the time to build trust with the patient that would otherwise not be feasible in transport or hospital environments.
- What is the current status of Indiana's Mobile Integrated Health system?
The Indiana EMS Commission is working to provide guidance and structure to communities seeking to establish their own community paramedicine programs in the future.
Approval for Indiana MIH Programs
Pursuant to Indiana Code 16-31-12-3, the Indiana EMS Commission has established a process for review and approval of MIH programs. This approval process currently is just approval of a program that would make that program eligible for reimbursement for its programs for payors, such as the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), which require the program to be an approved one.
Indiana MIH Dashboard