EMS system to shift low-priority calls – Patients will talk with nurse, may avoid ambulance, ER
Hoping to ease overcrowded emergency rooms and trim ambulance runs, Louisville Metro EMS is launching a program to screen low-priority 911 calls and divert some patients from hospitals to more appropriate care.
Starting Monday, dispatchers will turn a small number of the lowest priority calls — such as an earache or stomachache — over to a nurse, who can spend more time on the phone to decide the most appropriate treatment, which may not include a trip to an emergency room in an ambulance. The nurse may, for example, connect the caller with a doctor’s office or an urgent-care center. “We’re trying to challenge the way things are traditionally done,” said Dr. Neal Richmond, EMS director. “Let’s find these people better care.”
The system, the second of its kind in the nation, is widely used in the United Kingdom and Australia, said Dr. Jeff Clawson, medical director for the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch. While a handful of cities have explored similar programs, only Louisville and Richmond, Va., which piloted the program, are fully implementing it, he said. If used carefully, Clawson said, the system could be a powerful way to “preserve precious resources” while still getting patients needed care. “The time is here for this.”
Clawson said no patient would be denied ambulance service. All would have the choice of consulting with the nurse and, if they still want an ambulance, one would be dispatched. To read full article, please download the documents below.
911 program could ease emergency room problems – USATODAY.com
Download PDF from Louisville.Gov
Download PDF – Original Article in Courier Journal
ems1.com – Ky. 911 program to ease crowded ER rooms