Empowering catastrophic far-forward self-care: Nobody should die alone without trying

Abstract

LAY SUMMARY Traumatic injury is the most common cause of death among young people. Most victims of trauma die alone before medical response is possible. Typical causes of death are not overly complex to fix if access to standard hospital interventions is feasible. Dying victims are often connected to smartphone-supporting informatic communication technologies, which make available a worldwide network of experts who can potentially reassure and remotely diagnose victims and provide life-saving advice. TeleMentored Ultrasound Supported Medical Interventions (TMUSMI) researchers have focused on empowering point-of-care providers to perform outside their scope and deliver life-saving interventions. With the recognition that COVID-19 has profoundly isolated many people, solutions to respect COVID-19 isolation policies have stimulated the TMUSMI group to appreciate the potential for informatic technologies’ effect on the ability to care for oneself in cases of catastrophic injury.