Every once in a while a story is reported that reminds me how some parts of the U.S. still exist in the stone age of EMS. Normally I think of developing nations, poverty stricken countries where these conditions exist, but not here at home.
Then there’s Houston County, Tennessee.
Apparently a county politician doesn’t trust his county’s ambulance personnel to be able to determine where patients should be transported. A new policy requires EMS personnel to call an emergency department physician to make a destination decision.
To be fair, the politician thinks that those same personnel can do things like take vital signs. That’s progressive!
I bet they can get health insurance information too; maybe credit card numbers? A personal check? Anything to cover the cost of being transported by the orange-and-white taxi service.
Yes. Apparently it is true that stone age EMS systems still exist.
Besides the patient’s bill of rights or the need to transport to a trauma or another specialty center, I’m confused on how a policy like this might standup in court. Destination protocols, based on clinically based criteria, would seem to make more sense, even in rural Tennessee.
However, patient steering apparently makes more sense. Maybe it even makes more dollars and cents to steer patients to specific hospitals.
I’m sure that if the county commissioner took a moment to carefully consider the issues he raises, surely he would reconsider some of the indelicate comments he made about his public safety personnel. On the other hand, maybe he’ll expand his policies to have the law enforcement officers call a judge when determining when someone should go to a jail.
