I'm not an EMT, I'm a taxi driver

[yowzer]

I'm used to a regular stream of complete BS, abusing the system calls. But yesterday was ridicolous in that respect.

Plus there was a little bit of snow, which turned already bad traffic into something out of a nightmare. Going 2 mph was fast. People were sitting in traffic for 5+ hours to go 2 or 3 miles in some areas.

So what do we get?

The Little Old Lady living in a senior retirement apartment who'd lost 30 pounds over the last couple of months. Her daughter called 911. Just before we left, it was "I'll follow you to the hospital, Mom!"

---

Sent by a hospital we have a contract with to an apartment building for a direct admit. We wheel the stretcher up to the door, ring the buzzer.
"Hello?"
"Ambulance."
"Okay, I'll be right down!"
"Uh... you can walk?"
"Sure."
"Can you just meet us at the ambulance?"

Turns out he's an inpatient, who went home for the evening for dinner. Nobody knew why we were sent; I think a taxi took him home in the first place. We just left him in the hospital lobby; he knew where to go better than we did.

---

At 10:30 at night, we get sent with the local fire department to a dialysis center for an "unknown medical." My partner bets that someone just needs a ride home. We get there, no aid car. Call our dispatcher, who calls the fire department dispatcher, who says that the aid car cleared a while ago. We shrug, and head back to quarters. Halfway there, we get sent back as more information comes in to our dispatcher. The aid car crew left because it was a "stable patient" that didn't need any care. (Abandonment? What's what?)

I own five bucks.

We took the guy home more out of pity than anything else -- he'd been waiting over 5 hours for a cab to show up. It took an hour and a half to go 10 miles, starting at what was by then 11pm; there were still that many cars out on the road, sitting at a standstill. I had the ambulance idling in park for 20 minutes at one point.

---


Just shoot me and put me out of my misery, please?

 

[MMiz]

Back when I was in Michigan we'd call ourselves EMTs:

Eastern
Michigan
Taxis

I can't tell you how many times I've had a partner explain that joke to me. It never gets old.

 

[Ridryder911]

I am surprised of the overwhelming services that do not have policies on patient not needing transports. Sure, most of the time we might as well transport them, but they have to sign and it is documented that they will be responsible and will be billed for the EMS unit. Especially, if there is not medical reason or the patient is ambulatory, or can go by wheel chair.

We inform the family, if it is not life threatening other means of transportation needs to be sought out.

EMS cannot receive payment on non-justified services.

R/r 911

 

[Stevo]

we don't refuse anybody

they can refuse us if they like

~S~

 

[yowzer]

I am surprised of the overwhelming services that do not have policies on patient not needing transports. Sure, most of the time we might as well transport them, but they have to sign and it is documented that they will be responsible and will be billed for the EMS unit. Especially, if there is not medical reason or the patient is ambulatory, or can go by wheel chair.

We inform the family, if it is not life threatening other means of transportation needs to be sought out.

EMS cannot receive payment on non-justified services.

R/r 911

It's amazing how many people, when told their insurance most likely won't cover the trip and that they'll be facing a $500+ bill just for the ride, shrug, sign, and get a ride.

 

[Guardian]

It's amazing how many people, when told their insurance most likely won't cover the trip and that they'll be facing a $500+ bill just for the ride, shrug, sign, and get a ride.

I respectfully disagree and based on your statement, I'd guess you've never worked inner city ems. These people don't care. We can't take their housing because they live in public housing, we can't take their food stamps, we can't take their car because they don't have one, we can't take their drug money because they don't report that to the IRS so...we can send them all the 500 dollar bills we want and we can drag them to court and waist money but we sure as hell aren't getting paid. They know they won't have to pay and they know we can't refuse them our services (spineless incompetent ems management).

 

[jeepmedic]

I respectfully disagree and based on your statement, I'd guess you've never worked inner city ems. These people don't care. We can't take their housing because they live in public housing, we can't take their food stamps, we can't take their car because they don't have one, we can't take their drug money because they don't report that to the IRS so...we can send them all the 500 dollar bills we want and we can drag them to court and waist money but we sure as hell aren't getting paid. They know they won't have to pay and they know we can't refuse them our services (spineless incompetent ems management).

This is true. I was told one time if you get payment on 40% of the bills you send out you are doing great.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

I swear there are some days you are d*amed if you do and d*med if you don't
I wish we would get some snow here or at least some rain...^_^

 

[jeepmedic]

I swear there are some days you are d*amed if you do and d*med if you don't
I wish we would get some snow here or at least some rain...^_^

Are we having a bad Day?

 

[trauma1534]

I personally think every state should go to the triage thing. There are a couple agnecies in NC that I know of that when a call comes out, the medic responds with a BLS truck on a seperate responce vehicle. The medic triages the patient. If they don't see a medical reason for that patient to need the ambulance, they don't transport.

That frees up perfectly good BLS and ALS trucks for real calls, with real problems.

Another thing. There has been alot of discussion here lately about having nothing but medics on trucks. What about those BLS transports. Would you justify tieing up a perfectly good ALS truck for a granny toat?

I know when we get a call to the nursing home and it is complete BLS, I make every effort to have a BLS crew to transport that patient. Why tie up my ALS truck for a BLS ride to the hospital?

Another thing. I hate to go to a house of someone who has had the backache for 3 days, they just decide to call you, and it is 6am, and there is 3 cars in the driveway, and everyone is up. They give you the line of.. well... if you transport them, they will get seen faster. That would be a nagitive!!! If they can walk to my truck with out assistance, then they get the bench seat ride in. They will be placed in triage at the ER. They will be seated in the waiting area, and they will have the same treatment of every other walk in at that ED. That's if I can't talk them into signing my refusal form and going to thier Dr. office when it opens. I can't stand people who try to abuse the system!!! If it's not life threatening, then they should all be placed in triage, in my oppinion.

 

[Stevo]

Guardian goes for the brass ring...

These people don't care. We can't take their housing because they live in public housing, we can't take their food stamps, we can't take their car because they don't have one, we can't take their drug money because they don't report that to the IRS so...we can send them all the 500 dollar bills we want and we can drag them to court and waist money but we sure as hell aren't getting paid. They know they won't have to pay and they know we can't refuse them our services (spineless incompetent ems management).

45 million Americans will now be calling EMS now that you've let the cat outta the bag that we're such a soft touch Guardian

hypocratic oaths and health care biz make for strange bedfellows don't they?

here's an idea, outsource all those stubbed toe calls

worked for every other big industry here

~S~

 

[yowzer]

I personally think every state should go to the triage thing. There are a couple agnecies in NC that I know of that when a call comes out, the medic responds with a BLS truck on a seperate responce vehicle. The medic triages the patient. If they don't see a medical reason for that patient to need the ambulance, they don't transport.

Man, I wish that was the case in Wa. If you insist that you want to go by ambulance, you go.

If they can walk to my truck with out assistance, then they get the bench seat ride in.

You let people ride on the bench seat? Wow. I've never even heard of that unless you're transporting 2 or more people.

 

[yowzer]

This is true. I was told one time if you get payment on 40% of the bills you send out you are doing great.

No wonder the company I work for is really big on hospital contracts over ones with fire departments. If you're admitted to a hospital, you probably have SOME sort of insurance, even if it is just medicare and they're loosing money on you.

 

[yowzer]

I respectfully disagree and based on your statement, I'd guess you've never worked inner city ems.

Can't say that I have.

 

[trauma1534]

You let people ride on the bench seat? Wow. I've never even heard of that unless you're transporting 2 or more people.

Why not? It saves me from haveing to make the stretcher (or my partner from making the stretcher). Why mess it up when you don't need to? Furthermore, I am not going to lift someone, if they can walk. Bench seat works well. Although, I have in the past gotten a wild hair up my arse and soemone who is being a real pain, I have gotten them on the stretcher after which they have walked to the truck for something stupid, and I have strapped then on, called report to the ER, advizing them that the patient is triagable, not saying anything to the patient about it. Got the patient out on the stretcher, wheeled them into the ER door, and stopped in front of the triage area, lowered the stretcher, and put them off right there, when they made the comment that they were getting seen faster because they were going by us. That pisses them off! Oh well.. should not have bothered me for something stupid!

 

[Stevo]

i've had a number of spiral staircase scenes that nothing but an upright human could navigate. so if they feel they can walk, fine...

heck, if they wish to do the macarena , they're free to aren't they?

~S~