The need for a robust 24/7 subspecialty “clearing house” response for telementored trauma care

Traumatic injury is increasing in importance in all settings and environments worldwide. Many preventable deaths are from conditions that are common and treatable. However, as potentially lethal injuries often induce progressive and frequently irreversible physiologic decline, the timing of interventions is critical. Invasive treatments may need to be offered by prehospital care providers who lack extensive training and practice. Telementoring allows experienced experts to guide less experienced providers remotely using information technology (IT). Early experience has shown that these techniques are practical and considered valuable. Their translation to regular practice, however, will require the immediate availability of appropriately trained remote experts willing to serve as mentors. Acute care trauma specialists are acclimatized to responding to out-of-hospital consultations and assuming overall responsibility for critical physiology and transport and may serve as the backbone of such a national/ international call response initiative.