The Application of a 5G-Enabled Emergency Full-Process System in Telemedicine: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective: This prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a 5G-integrated emergency full-process system in telemedicine, specifically assessing its impact on prehospital-to-in-hospital information transfer, remote triage efficiency, and teleconsultation outcomes. Methods: A prospective single-center cohort study was conducted from January to December 2024, involving 300 patients in the 5G system group and 300 matched patients in the traditional care group. The primary endpoints included prehospital information warning time, remote rescue success rate, and remote triage accuracy. Results: The 5G system significantly reduced the prehospital warning time to 136 ± 22 sec (vs. 235 ± 41 sec in the control group, p < 0.001), increased the remote rescue success rate to 98.9% (p < 0.001), and improved remote triage accuracy to 96.3% (p < 0.001). Most notably, the 30-day mortality rate was significantly lower in the 5G group (4.0% vs. 9.3% in the control group, p = 0.007). Additionally, data reporting completeness for telemedicine cases improved by 32.2%, accompanied by a 45% reduction in reporting time. Conclusion: The 5G emergency full-process system demonstrates substantial advantages in facilitating real-time tele-emergency services, providing strong evidence to support its integration into evidence-based telemedicine protocols.