Here let me get you a taxi.....and hold on to your finger.

JPINFV said:
but but but but... national healthcare!
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Oh Wow! I do love this comment! This is the kind of medicine we had 40 years ago here. I remember it very well! Why any American would want to go back to a taxi-cab healthcare system is beyond me.

While I don't think the man was in immediate danger, the nastyness of a cab alone makes me want more life insurance... in case we wind up back in the same situation here. <_<
 
rescue99 said:
Why any American would want to go back to a taxi-cab healthcare system is beyond me.
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But isn't that what Americans in the U.S. have now with some EMS systems? The only difference is the ambulances might have cots and L&S. The taxi driver however might be more experienced at driving real fast in traffic.
 
VentMedic said:
But isn't that what Americans in the U.S. have now with some EMS systems? The only difference is the ambulances might have cots and L&S. The taxi driver however might be more experienced at driving real fast in traffic.
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And drugs, and medical equipment, and hopefully someone educated to use such.
 
VentMedic said:
But isn't that what Americans in the U.S. have now with some EMS systems? The only difference is the ambulances might have cots and L&S. The taxi driver however might be more experienced at driving real fast in traffic.
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Umm, NO!
 
Sasha said:
And drugs, and medical equipment, and hopefully someone educated to use such.
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How many are BLS only or have inadequate ALS protocols, training and oversight? How many services have attitudes about what they think is BS or just do the minimum regardless?
 
VentMedic said:
How many are BLS only or have inadequate ALS protocols, training and oversight? How many services have attitudes about what they think is BS or just do the minimum regardless?
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How many Taxi's are insured to provide any sort of medical care, period? This is a rediculous reason to argue.
 
rescue99 said:
How many Taxi's are insured to provide any sort of medical care, period? This is a rediculous reason to argue.
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How many ambulances are insured to provide medical care but only give a real fast ride to the hospital?

Look at the actual care some provide or don't provide and I find it ridiculous that ambulances should be allowed to charge what they do.
 
VentMedic said:
How many ambulances are insured to provide medical care but only give a real fast ride to the hospital?

Look at the actual care some provide or don't provide and I find it ridiculous that ambulances should be allowed to charge what they do.
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Enough! Arguing just to argue is not in anyone's best interest.
 
rescue99 said:
Enough! Arguing just to argue is not in anyone's best interest.
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Are you really this naive to not see some of the issues in EMS? You've also been on the forums long enough to know that some do just run real fast to the hospital for a variety of reasons be it that is all they can do or their favorite TV show is on.

Let's take the typical routine IFT. Do you know the charge to have an EMT in the back who is not educated in most medical conditions they transport? Do you think $600 - $900 is reasonable for one BP check?

What about the ALS truck that also only does one set of vitals and dumps the patient in the ED "as is"? What about those who have very limited protocols but are still called ALS? What about those who have very limited education, training and protocols but yet try to pass themselves off as CCT under the SCT code?

Do you even know some of the issues mentioned at state and national meetings?
 
The stories are sketchy, but what I believe happened would have been the community hospital in Ayr, would not have been geared up for re-implantation of digits, so had to arrange for transport to a more centralized facility which does. Being that Ayr (pronounced "air") is quite a rural town, and given that his injury was non-life threatening, he would have probably have had a longer wait for an ambulance. The "bag of peas" is journalistic nonsense - he would have been assessed, medicated for pain, and had the finger chilled prior to leaving the facility.

Ayr to Glasgow is about 30 miles north east, basically on one straight road (A77) with minimal congestion.

Definitely not the ideal situation, but one similar to which I received a week or so ago. Gent fell through a wooden bridge, got hung up on his ring finger which got yanked clean off. Transported by BLS Volly crew. No pain management of course. Result - not even an attempt at re-attachment due to it being pulled off, rather than sliced off.

So, not much different than the above story.
 
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Scott33 said:
No pain management of course. Result - not even an attempt at re-attachment due to it being pulled off, rather than sliced off.
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That is going to depend on the skill of the microsurgery center. A clean cut is no longer a requirement although the textbook picture perfect amputation would make things easier.

Thus, don't toss out the possibility that replantation is not possible just because it is not a pretty cut. Treat all patients and body parts as if they can be replanted because they just might be and regain their function again to a large percentage.

It is also unfortunate when a patient lands in a hospital that offers no microsurgery services and transport to a center is not always an option.

My comments of course pertain to the U.S. and its advancements in microsurgery. Other countries may not have these abilities or put the same value on extremities to offer up the costs.
 
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VentMedic said:
That is going to depend on the skill of the microsurgery center. A clean cut is no longer a requirement although the textbook picture perfect amputation would make things easier.

Thus, don't toss out the possibility that replantation is not possible just because it is not a pretty cut. Treat all patients and body parts as if they can be replanted because they just might be and regain their function again to a large percentage.
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Absolutely, it is not our call to make.
 
rescue99 said:
Oh Wow! I do love this comment! This is the kind of medicine we had 40 years ago here. I remember it very well! Why any American would want to go back to a taxi-cab healthcare system is beyond me.
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The UK had vollies as EMS providers 40 years ago. These days, like with most of the rest of the western world, they require degrees.

The average US BLS 911 call is little more than a taxi ride anyway, if truth be known.
 
Is it just me, or does this thread seem to reek of sarcasm?:wacko:
 
nomofica said:
Is it just me, or does this thread seem to reek of sarcasm?:wacko:
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That depends. If you don't care if you lose a finger or hand, then you can be taken to any medical center for treatment. However, many patients would like to keep their body parts if at all possible. But, if you don't care, then you might consider this a sarcastic thread as to why some might want to do pain management and see the patient has the best chances of saving their body part. There are also some who probably do think just a finger amputated is nothing more than BS and the person should probably just crawl into a taxi.
 
VentMedic said:
That depends. If you don't care if you lose a finger or hand, then you can be taken to any medical center for treatment. However, many patients would like to keep their body parts if at all possible. But, if you don't care, then you might consider this a sarcastic thread as to why some might want to do pain management and see the patient has the best chances of saving their body part. There are also some who probably do think just a finger amputated is nothing more than BS and the person should probably just crawl into a taxi.
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I wasn't entirely referring to the initial subject of the thread. There just seems to be a lot of (unnecessary) attacking going on from where I'm standing.
 
I actually had a patient refuse tansportation who had cut off his finger with a table saw, after some discussion we bandaged his finger placed it in a bag and on ice and sent him on his way.

He wanted his wife to take him, he has the right.
 
CAOX3 said:
I actually had a patient refuse tansportation who had cut off his finger with a table saw, after some discussion we bandaged his finger placed it in a bag and on ice and sent him on his way.

He wanted his wife to take him, he has the right.
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Right now in this economy, a lot of people are not taking ambulances. Medical debt is a difficult thing and a concern for many who are unemployed now or under insured. If you are only a BLS truck, there may not be much you can do for the patient. However, I hope the wife stayed calm enough to give the patient a smooth and safe ride to the hospital.
 
nomofica said:
I wasn't entirely referring to the initial subject of the thread. There just seems to be a lot of (unnecessary) attacking going on from where I'm standing.
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So what are you contributing other than another unnecessary post stating some posts are unnecessary?
 
How about keeping it on topic instead?
 
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