If you’ve been in the business for any length of time, you probably have a story that could come straight out of “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” file.
Indeed, I have evaluated the 2 a.m. call for the toe pain that had been going on for five years, the pebble lodged in someone’s ear, and the request for a hospital transport because it was down the block from the individual’s favorite liquor store.
These episodes would be highly amusing, except for the fact that such events tie up precious EMS resources and prevent a more timely response to more urgent cases.
Most EMS systems have responded to such calls by simply adding more units to the street to increase capacity. This is a financially unsustainable model. It doesn’t correct the problem of wasting resources; it merely compounds them by essentially condoning the behavior.
Programs like Greenville County (S.C.) EMS’s nurse call center show that phone triage, when done correctly, can be effective in reducing unnecessary responses and creating greater efficiencies in the 911 system.
