EMS abuse: The Ride to get High

This is so true. I heard somewhere that EMS abuse can get a person arrested, at least somewhere in Texas.

It takes a lot before "the system" will put the smackdown on people for 911 abuse. I've seen it happen a couple of times in a couple of different counties in Virginia -- in the one where I work as an ED nurse, and also in the county where I volunteer as a medic. In both cases, it took many, many, MANY calls to 911 before something was done about it. But now, if these people call 911 for a non-emergency, they go to jail.

Nice.......

At our hospital, EMS patients are not treated any differently than anyone else that comes into the ER.

They are triaged per complaint...so if you call the ambulance for a stumped toe, your butt is going to be hanging out for awhile.

All EMS has to do is hand them off and leave.

Learn the difference!

Where I work, EMS can usually "triage" the patients. If a paramedic tells the ER charge RN that the patient can go to the waiting room...then that's pretty much where they go. As a paramedic, I would say at least 50% of the calls I ran did not need an ambulance: 911 calls for herpes, lice, pregnancy tests, get a doctor to look at a scar they've had for 16 years, etc.... I'm not making any of those examples up.
People can also go to jail for "habitual abuse of 911". It's a good thing and we always thought at least while the people were locked up we'd get a break from going to their house.
But the example about drug seekers is a different story because pain is so subjective. No one can really prove whether or not the guy is telling the truth. But if a patient says they're in excruciating pain, 15/10, allergic to Toradol and naming the med and dosage of what they want but then can joke, cut up, ask to go smoke a cigarette, etc....then I'm not ashamed of saying I'm a little skeptical of their complaint.
if an ambulance service is supported by tax $, then any taxpayer has an expectation of receiving their services when called. I think the way to stop the abuse is to have some kind of national effort to exclude non-emergent trips from the ER. For example, if anyone showed up to the ER that was clinically stable then they would be informed about their options to go to an urgent care, community health department or make an appointment with a doctor...then they would have to leave.
We used to call it "professional deterrence" if someone called 911 with some ridiculous complaint, we'd tell them that they could walk to the ambulance, be put in a wheelchair and they'd sit in the waiting room with everyone else. Lots of times they'd sign a refusal at that point.

One thing that drives me INSANE is the people who abuse 911, get to the ED, and then demand, "How am I supposed to get home??" ARRRGHHH. So then they abuse the ED on the back end by getting a taxi voucher.

But yeah, the drug seekers as mentioned in the article are a whole 'nother ball of wax.

I am a nurse new to the ED and cannot believe what ppl are calling emergencies. These are some recent "emergencies" I have had... An ingrown toenail, a scratch from a barbwire fence, fever - in the middle of the day while the ajoining peds clinic was open, a small abcess on the buttock, another so called unseen abcess that the pt felt was "tunnelled" and who returned 2 days later when the abx didn't help, suspected flea bites from 2 days prior that left little flat pink areas and NO other symptoms... These are just a few, and there are plenty more. I am just shocked I guess. Most ppl I know would only use the ed for actual emergencies, which imo are things that can't be handled in a dr office or during the hours the office is closed. On a positive note, I was awaken by the news this morning that there is a law in process that an EMS pt can no longer choose their hospital and have to go where EMS thinks they should take them. This will cut out a lot of drug seeking activity by way of EMS.

Okay, so let me ask the question, "why do you continue to transport the above-mentioned people in your ambulance?".....

"Why do you allow precious 911 resources to be tied up transporting them in the system?"...

What's that you say? Your boss says you have to?
Oh, okay, well what are you doing to lobby for change?
Why can you do at your job, community, elected leaders levels to effect change?

-MB

WE call it an EMERGENCY department, but the community doesn't.
I think anyone who gets into Emergency medicine/nursing these days , has to know that they will NOT be dealing with EMERGENCIES for the most part - and thus, should not be getting all upset that non-emergencies come to the ED.

The entire culture has allowed the "Emergency Department" to become more of a 24/7 walk-in, pay later, clinic....it's our own fault folks, we really can only blame ourselves.

-MB