The Infamous Cab-ulance

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I'm curious to know some of the things your patients call the ambulance for. Just recently we've had patients who present to the ED via EMS and c/o ripped cuticle, or a med refill, along with many more complaints that, in my opinion, absolutely do not justify the need for emergency medical services. The worst one lately, though, was a patient who presented to the ED and when getting off the stretcher, stated that they just needed a ride to this side of town to get to their friend's house and simply walked out the EMS bay doors. I was flabbergasted.

What inane EMS runs have you experienced?

Specializes in ER.

Can you tell us something about the healthcare system in Finland please, I am not familiar with it, thanks : )

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Everything is different there --

1. College is "free" (paid for with taxes), so doctors (and nurses and administrators and everyone else involved in healthcare) don't have huge student loans to pay off and so they don't earn huge salaries... overall healthcare costs are lower as a result.

2. Malpractice laws only allow for lawsuits in the event of egregious malpractice (like if you end up looking like a Picasso painting when they unwrap the bandages), so premiums are minimal... overall healthcare costs are lower as a result.

3. Because the government is paying the bill, any abuse of the system is met with criminal and civil charges of fraud, and the gov't always wins those cases. As a result, people don't go to the ER for a hangnail or call an ambulance because they have the sniffles... overall healthcare costs are lower as a result.

4. The country is much smaller, without all the various branches of government that we have here in the USA. If someone called an ambulance for a hangnail here in my town, my local prosecutor would have to press the charges and try the case... but this isn't his/her priority to pursue, because the medical fraud didn't (directly) affect the local prosecutor's budget -- that money came from some other department in the federal government in Washington, so the case is just ignored. But in a smaller geographic and governmental area where the budget money all comes out of one central account, it suddenly becomes more feasible to pursue the medical fraud, because the money recovered would get returned to the central budget, which would then mean that the prosecutor's office's budget would be increased.

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

I really think that if a person comes by way of ambulance and is not in need of the "back door entry", they should be made to wait just like the people who walk into the waiting room. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of putting them in the hall, we could put them in the waiting room instead?!?

My ER frequently places ambulance patients in the waiting room and explain that the mode of transportation does not indicate an emergency!

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Specializes in CRNA.
I really think that if a person comes by way of ambulance and is not in need of the "back door entry", they should be made to wait just like the people who walk into the waiting room. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of putting them in the hall, we could put them in the waiting room instead?!?

My ER frequently places ambulance patients in the waiting room and explain that the mode of transportation does not indicate an emergency!

Yeap, we do the same thing. IF they come in for a complete bs reason then they are given a therapeutic wait in the waiting room.

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Specializes in Emergency.
Yeap, we do the same thing. IF they come in for a complete bs reason then they are given a therapeutic wait in the waiting room.

So do we. They can sign in and wait like the walk-ins.

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Specializes in ER.

While they enjoy their therapeutic wait, i often hear them yapping on their cells, it goes along the lines of "I just got rushed to hospital by ambulance".

Sorry.

The only one who truly get rushed in by ambulance are in no way capable of having a cell conversation.

They tend to be unconscious : )

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

One night we had a kid delivered by EMS because someone had given him the "ojo." In the spanish culture the translation would be the "evil eye."

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Specializes in ER, Addictions, Geriatrics.
Yeap, we do the same thing. IF they come in for a complete bs reason then they are given a therapeutic wait in the waiting room.

Same here! I love the look of confusion as they approach the desk stating "Uhhmmm.... I came by ambulance.. should I really be waiting?" Yes. Yes, you and your complaint of constipation for the last two hours most certainly can and will wait. :)

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Specializes in CRNA.

Had a guy come in tonight for a dog bite. Normally you think that a dog bite by EMS would be pretty bad. Not this one. He had a scrap on the medial side of his patella and what looked like a very small puncture that had already closed when he got to us. He called EMS because he wanted to make sure he didn't get rabies... SMH!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

sounds like they are going to get into trouble....http://www.ems1.com/ambulance/articles/1890752-5-billion-Medicare-bill-for-ambulance-services-points-to-fraud/

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I'm in Australia, was born on New Zealand. If you call an ambulance and get in it for a ride to the hospital, you will receive an $800 bill or there abouts. If you refuse to get in they still may charge you for the call out, but generally won't. It can be cheaper if you have St. John's ambulance insurance, which is approx $140 a year. We have a lot of education about not abusing the emergency services, but it still happens.

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Specializes in ER.
I'm in Australia, was born on New Zealand. If you call an ambulance and get in it for a ride to the hospital, you will receive an $800 bill or there abouts. If you refuse to get in they still may charge you for the call out, but generally won't. It can be cheaper if you have St. John's ambulance insurance, which is approx $140 a year. We have a lot of education about not abusing the emergency services, but it still happens.

That's interesting, I work with a lot of EMS who have done exchanges in Aus, and they tell me the system is much better there.

Maybe its just a regional thing, I think they go to Perth, but I'm not sure.

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