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911 abuse: Calling with the sniffles
9-1-1 in the News, Trends | Greg | August 25, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Experts say 9-1-1 abuse may be costing America billions of dollars every year, paid ultimately through higher taxes and medical fees. And yet in the current debate on health care, this costly problem has gone unnoticed.
“Everyone’s talking about the billions of dollars wasted when people misuse the emergency room in hospitals,” said Jerry Johnston, outgoing president of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT). “How about the misuse of emergency services even before they reach the hospital? That’s not been on anyone’s radar.”
The 911 system has become a sort of stop-gap primary care for many individuals, said Connie Meyer, president-elect of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.
Meyer, who is an EMS captain in Johnson County, Kan., said 50% of the 35,000 911 medical calls in her county are not really emergencies. And for each 911 call, it costs between $400 to $500 to transport a person via ambulance to a hospital, she said.
“If you don’t really need it, it becomes a $400 taxi to the hospital,” Meyer said.
Tags: 9-1-1 abuse, Funding, Government
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