Abuse of Medical Services
Running head: ABUSE OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEM
Abuse of the Emergency Medical System
4/8/2010
Running head: ABUSE OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEM
Abuse of the Emergency Medical System
The system of emergency medicine is often abused. From 911 calls, to visits at an emergency room (ER) we are experiencing an overload of non-emergency patients, causing the systems to become backed up and consuming money and time from all people involved. This abuse largely stems from the general public not being properly educated with the true functions of the system. Thus, seeking alternate systems would be beneficial in several ways. An emergency medical service (EMS) has a limited number of ambulances available, based on the number of runs usually required per time of day, and considering the population it serves. At times all ambulance units are out on runs (i.e. service calls) and a true emergency 911 call comes in with no ambulance units available to respond until a unit clears its scene. The alternatives that are taken to avoid this event are, employees on stand-by call; a supervisor in a chase car (non-patient transport vehicle), and/or mutual aid agreements with adjacent counties EMS service. Employees on stand-by call are the most widely used solution to solve moments when all units are tied up on a scene. The downfall is you are dependant on employees signing up for the call and/or the distance the individual lives from the station he/she is reporting to. More times then not, by the time the employee reaches the station the need for them is over. EMS services are timed in minutes. Sometimes those minutes are critical in the timeline of a patient suffering from a heart attack, or stroke, or respiratory distress. A supervisor or medic in a chase car lessens the need for advanced life support (ALS) units so an agency can employee more basic life support (BLS) units. This will allow an emergency medical service room in their budget for
Abuse of the Emergency Medical System
4/8/2010
Running head: ABUSE OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEM
Abuse of the Emergency Medical System
The system of emergency medicine is often abused. From 911 calls, to visits at an emergency room (ER) we are experiencing an overload of non-emergency patients, causing the systems to become backed up and consuming money and time from all people involved. This abuse largely stems from the general public not being properly educated with the true functions of the system. Thus, seeking alternate systems would be beneficial in several ways. An emergency medical service (EMS) has a limited number of ambulances available, based on the number of runs usually required per time of day, and considering the population it serves. At times all ambulance units are out on runs (i.e. service calls) and a true emergency 911 call comes in with no ambulance units available to respond until a unit clears its scene. The alternatives that are taken to avoid this event are, employees on stand-by call; a supervisor in a chase car (non-patient transport vehicle), and/or mutual aid agreements with adjacent counties EMS service. Employees on stand-by call are the most widely used solution to solve moments when all units are tied up on a scene. The downfall is you are dependant on employees signing up for the call and/or the distance the individual lives from the station he/she is reporting to. More times then not, by the time the employee reaches the station the need for them is over. EMS services are timed in minutes. Sometimes those minutes are critical in the timeline of a patient suffering from a heart attack, or stroke, or respiratory distress. A supervisor or medic in a chase car lessens the need for advanced life support (ALS) units so an agency can employee more basic life support (BLS) units. This will allow an emergency medical service room in their budget for
References: Associated Press, (2007, June) Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19207050/ns/health-more_health_news Costello, Tom, (2006, Nov.) Hospitals work to improve ER wait times. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15817906/ Gordon, Serena, (2008, Jan) ER wait times becoming increasingly dangerous. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008 /01/15/ Lorren, Brooke, (2009, April) A review of the gilbert hospital. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1624472/a_review_of_the gilbert hopital in. html?cat=52 PRNewswire-USNewswire, (2009, June), ER wait times don’t exist for gilbert hospital. Sharon, Thomas, (2008), Emergency room waiting time, Retrieved from http://www.a- nutritional-supplements.com/sha/23hosp.htm