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New definition of EMT: Emergency Medical Taxi
We all train hard for what we do, class after class just to stay up to date on new procedure. Red lights rolling on many Emergency's. Then there are the not so emergency that we run on, "I don't feel good, the "chest pain" calls with their bags packed at the door, the "my doctor told me to come in today" calls. It's enough to drive you crazy! Then you get the one's who call for an ambulance because they couldn't handle the wait in the E.R. So my question to you is, When did we become a high priced taxi, instead of the emergency medical transport we are supposed to be? Misuse of the EMS service has to stop, expecially in rural areas. I couldn't tell you how many times we have been tied up on a real emergency while an ambulance had to come from 15 to 20 miles out all because of someone wanting a ride to a doctors appointment and tieing up the ambulance the would have been there working with my rescue crew. The worst part of it all is that they usually have 20 cars in the drive way with 2 or more sitting there running but no one can manage to take them to the hospital for their appointment.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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Unfortunately thats the name of the game. When the "frequent flyer" patients have their bags packed and standing at the door, you give them the absolute same treatment you give the rest of your patients. Its called professionalism.
Being frustrated is a given when you are human. Being able to overcome the frustration to give a constant excellant level of care is what makes you a better EMS provider.
I use the word EMS provider as a general to explain all the differing levels of medical care given by first responders.
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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Phillips on
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It's funny you mention that "The Boys and Girls in Blue" have taken it upon themselves to take over some medical calls. I have yet to figure out when Law Enforcement started running emergency medical. Personally I feel that the donut brigade has taken too much upon themselves. All it is going to take is the one time they run ahead of us and walk into a full code or another call that needs immediate attention and they are standing there with their hands in their pockets. I guess it boils down to mutually responding departments sitting down and drawing the line on what and when different entities should respond, but it is always nice to use the "boys in blue" for lifting assistance especially when we can get them dirty.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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The key word here is "Professionalism"....I can see your attitude showing a bit here...and I have to admit I sometimes feel the same way....No-one ever promised us that it would be all the Life and Death stuff every call....what may seem like a "taxi ride" to us might seem to be a whole lot more important to the patient...isn't that what we are here for...."patient care".....I understand it becomes frustrating at times....But please don't let it cloud your thinking...doing that may sometime bite you in the butt by missing something.....step back take a deep breath and then deal with it...You are much better than this mundane issue....think how we sometimes feel in the E.R. 20 pts to see and only a hang nail among them...but we still have to go through the routines to CYA..(Cover your ass) Stay safe.......Paul
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Usually the calls we get like these are people on public aid (welfare). They don't have to pay an ambulance bill, so why not abuse the system and make it work for them?
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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First off, I can't believe that you called our law enforcement folks the "donut brigade". Where do people come up with this stuff about cops and donuts? (LOL)
Ok, with a little humor here I share with you Jeremy that as far as the EMS calls and the cops doing patient care, you need to chill out... I love you man, but I think your mindset should identify that we are all EMS providers, regardless of the uniform that we are wearing.
The first person on scene to start EMS delivery is the goal here. It does not matter whether they are medical abusers, drug addicts, alzheimer patients who got lose again or drunks. There is a professional code of conduct that we has health care professionals need to always have in our minds. We are not here to judge, but to help.
When I have been involved on incidents where there are people out there who have gun and want to hurt us, you can bet that I am calling on law enforcement to protect my crew and I. Because I work in a remote area, I call law enforcement to respond on EMS callls (medical or MVA's) because I know they can get there faster than I can. Once there, they report to me what they have and we work together as a team. This allows me the option to decide what additional equipment I might need or if I can cancel the helicopter.
You will be amazed at how much more fun this job can be if you make friends with the cops. They are a tough nut to crack though. Cops tend to keep to themselves, hanging with other cops because generally, people don't understand that all they really want to do deep down is help people. They also will admit if you ask them if they regret not becoming a firefighter. They usually nod yes and remind me that everyone loves a firefighter. The one cool thing about cops that I have learned is that once you are their friend, it's for life. They are a very loyal group of individuals and you should feel honored if they "let you in".
I figured this out years ago and have fostered some incredible friendships as a result. What a difference now on calls where you recognize the cop from the other day, you smile, you both know that the patient is a dirt bag, but who cares, that's what we get paid to deal with and we are professional about it. There is a reason why all the cops are jealous of us. Everyone loves firefighters. They don't judge, they are not mean, and if you ever call 911, they will always come to your rescue. Cops live a life where lots of people hate them. What they do for a living is usually unpleasant. I think we should all make an effort to embrace into friendship everyone. It sure makes running calls a lot more fun... and it also saves my back... : )
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Permalink Reply by Karen on
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I agree with your post, Michael, 100%. When it comes down to the "bottom line" any accident or crime scene goes much smoother if all involved are able to "get along" in a professional manner.
Regarding the "BS" non emergency calls, it's been stated more then once on this forum that when you took the job as an EMS provider there was no clause in your job description that stated "every working day will be filled with high level "excitement" on the job" Unfortunately, you have to take the "good" with the "bad" calls.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Mike,
I showed the Donutland photo to the cops at the EOC while we were waiting out T.S. Hanna last night. They spoke of hunting you down and implementing vile tortures. How tough are you?
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The first rule of medical ethics is to treat all patients equally without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, smell, or ability to pay.
I don't think you'll be seeing "ability to pay" anywhere on the Emergency Medical Dispatch screening cards any time soon.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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That's the real problem here and has been for more than 20 years. The government will not pay for transportation by any other means. If they paid the $75 round trip taxi bill instead of the $1000 ambulance, there might be more money to go around. But abuse-proofing would be next to impossible.
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Permalink Reply by Timothy Overly on
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That's because they have the "Magic Blue Card (Medicaid/Medicare)". This come with unlimited "Everyday My Taxi" rides that they don't have to pay for. This abuse is probably the biggest reason why I no longer work on an ambulance as a Paramedic anymore.
I got sick of the abuse of the system and decided to no longer be a part of it. I loved helping those with true medical issues but the majority were frequent fliers who were too lazy to work and preferred to let the taxpaying citizens pay for their existence, all the while complaining about how they were treated. I wish they government would limit these programs to those who truly need it. They are the ones who never called and I had to convince to go to the hospital when they needed medical attention.
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