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Ambulance considering charge for intoxicated no transports
- Thread starter ffemt8978
- Start date
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Our county tried charging drunks a fee for booking eval and observation. Gave it up, no pay.
Bullets
Forum Knucklehead
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Sounds more like they need to tell the local LEOs to stop calling for an ambulance. We are dealing with this in my system, cops call for an ambulance simply to obtain an RMA, we usually end up clearing and marking it as Service Not Needed, Police Matter. We are in the process of working with the Police captain in developing a protocol for when to request an ambulance in regards to drunks, drugs, and non-treats. The patrolmen do to CYA but it is putting an increased strain on our resources. No reason a cop cant transport or just not request of they know the person doesnt want to go
OP
OP
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It's a college town, so I don't think the LEO's are going to want the responsibility of not calling EMS. I also doubt they will see any money from this, because why should the "patient" pay when a third party driving down the street called EMS?
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Yeah, I'm not sure how you can bill a person when they didn't request or use your services....
The problem I see is the cops. They need to change their policy of calling EMS every time they come across someone whose had a few too many drinks.
Or, the EMS service should just start billing the police dept.....
The problem I see is the cops. They need to change their policy of calling EMS every time they come across someone whose had a few too many drinks.
Or, the EMS service should just start billing the police dept.....
OP
OP
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But from what I understand, the cops are usually called to these people by passerby's, so they have to respond. My guess would be that EMS is dispatched at the same time for the proverbial "man down".
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True. If that's actually what's happening then the EMS service needs to suck it up.
But in my experience, police often come across these drunks and call EMS to deal with them. I was assuming that's what's happening here.
But in my experience, police often come across these drunks and call EMS to deal with them. I was assuming that's what's happening here.
EpiEMS
Forum Deputy Chief
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The issue is cost-effectiveness. If for every 100 intox call 99 are RMA'ed, but 1 gets transported because the patient is GCS <8 and needs aggressive treatment (and otherwise would've died, say), is that cost-effective? I don't know.
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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don't like it? find a new job. EMS gets called for drunks, because you don't know for sure if they are just drunk. It sucks, it ties up an ambulance, it ties up an ER bed, but oh well, it's part of the job.
It's not right to bill for a 3rd party ambulance request. But for everyone you transport, bill their insurance.
it sucks, but dealing with drunks is just part of the job.
It's not right to bill for a 3rd party ambulance request. But for everyone you transport, bill their insurance.
it sucks, but dealing with drunks is just part of the job.
VFlutter
Flight Nurse
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You have to deal with the drunks and I have to deal with the DTs. Want to trade? I am sure they are much more pleasant intoxicated then they are withdrawing.
Depends on the patient. A lot easier to avoid a wrastlin' match when you're in the clinical environment, not stuck in an 10x7 box, or in a dark alley, or a hovel of a "home".