The fastest ambulance?

[Snowman]

Eli Beer: The fastest ambulance? A motorcycle

[bulldog]

I'll admit I did not watch the entire video, but to me this is more like fastest "medical response" since they can't transport a person. The entire point of a ambulance is to have nearly the same services a hospital has while transporting them. Since my fiance is a nurse I have have had conversations with her why people wait for a ambulance over transporting them in car, so learned how much equipment is in a ambulance that can be life or death when seconds count.


EDIT: OK he admits this will not replace a ambulance just will be the faster to respond. Great idea

[Snowman]

Yes, he addressed that. His response was they fill the gap between the call and the Ambulance arrival, which in east Jerusalem can be up to an hour...

[bulldog]

Yes, he addressed that. His response was they fill the gap between the call and the Ambulance arrival, which in east Jerusalem can be up to an hour...

Yeah went back and listened to it while working (still am) and got to that 7:00 mark where he explained that. Makes so much sense and amazing we have not used motorcycles before since they can easily get where a ambulance can't. I'd love to see this here!

[Aaron]

The entire point of a ambulance is to have nearly the same services a hospital has while transporting them.

Woah absolutely not the point of an ambulance. The purpose of ambulances is to keep people alive until they reach the hospital. This means stopping bleeding, creating or maintaining an airway, and keeping vital organs going. Honestly the simplest but most critical items to care for. The purpose of a hospital is completely different. I understand the point you're trying to make, but they do have completely difference purposes. These bikes are actually very good things, as they get to the scene much quicker, and it doesn't take much in terms of equipment to provide basic life saving care before a person can be transported to a hospital.

For emergency trauma care I carried 3 items of equipment, a tourniquet, Quick clot, and a decompression needle. With these simple tools an injury to any extremity can be dealt with for over 6 hours, and a trauma injury to the chest cavity minus a vital organ can be easily survivable. It's all about stopping bleeding, because any traumatic injury, and the person needs a surgeon, there's no way of avoiding that. Ambulances don't do surgery, they stop bleeding, maintain breathing, keep vital organs going. They keep you alive until doctors/surgeons can start the repairing.

Now in reality, ambulances in America are for little more than an expensive taxi cab.

[kawasakirob]

Woah! Hang on a second. What the hell is an ambulance?

[bulldog]

Woah absolutely not the point of an ambulance. The purpose of ambulances is to keep people alive until they reach the hospital. This means stopping bleeding, creating or maintaining an airway, and keeping vital organs going. Honestly the simplest but most critical items to care for. The purpose of a hospital is completely different. I understand the point you're trying to make, but they do have completely difference purposes. These bikes are actually very good things, as they get to the scene much quicker, and it doesn't take much in terms of equipment to provide basic life saving care before a person can be transported to a hospital.

For emergency trauma care I carried 3 items of equipment, a tourniquet, Quick clot, and a decompression needle. With these simple tools an injury to any extremity can be dealt with for over 6 hours, and a trauma injury to the chest cavity minus a vital organ can be easily survivable. It's all about stopping bleeding, because any traumatic injury, and the person needs a surgeon, there's no way of avoiding that. Ambulances don't do surgery, they stop bleeding, maintain breathing, keep vital organs going. They keep you alive until doctors/surgeons can start the repairing.

Now in reality, ambulances in America are for little more than an expensive taxi cab.

Well I did go and post after that I see that the motorcycle ambulance was explained more in detail in the video (when I made the post you quoted I had not finished the video yet...my bad), so I understand now that it is not a replacement for one, but more for the fast response and I think it is a great idea!

As for ambulance's in America being a little more than a expensive cab ride I disagree with. As I stated my fiancee is a ICU nurse and without a ambulance many people would die before they get to the hospital. One of the worst things people can do for someone in critical condition is bypass a ambulance to save money as those seconds count a lot! But yes you are correct and I exaggerated a bit when I said a ambulance should have the same services as a hospital, so should have said more services than driving a critical buddy in your truck to the hospital. Having a motorcycle ambulance there while the main one comes would help this from happening I bet.

[Aaron]

There are times when the ambulance is life-saving, that I completely agree with. Of the thousands of times I've responded with fire however, I can count on my hands and toes how many people actually needed an ambulance. The system is just heavily abused that's all. Mentally unstable people who think there's something wrong with them, lonely people who want the attention, and alcoholics are some of the worst.

[Ezzzzy1]

In the game of EMS its all about time. This is a great idea. Doesnt even matter if it cant transport or not. It will be able to get into places that a normal ambulance cant and 100% of the time it will get there quicker (unless it crashes).

The faster a trained professional can get to someone in need the more people that live. Simple.

[bulldog]

There are times when the ambulance is life-saving, that I completely agree with. Of the thousands of times I've responded with fire however, I can count on my hands and toes how many people actually needed an ambulance. The system is just heavily abused that's all. Mentally unstable people who think there's something wrong with them, lonely people who want the attention, and alcoholics are some of the worst.

Well if it makes you feel better. Insurance companies (mainly Medicare who only covers emergency ambulance) can deny a ambulance claim if they do not feel it was a emergency transport. So they abuse the system and hopefully get billed for it...although they will probably just abuse they system in another way and that is to not pay for their medical bills anyways.

I agree though, so many people that abuse this….but sometimes it is not even just the members I worked for Medicaid (low income state insurance) for 5 years as the lead of provider enrollment and I once had this limousine company that wanted to be a provider for “non-medical transportation”. Well long story short I approved them because they had the proper credentials and about a month later I get a call from the front desk saying there was a provider here to see me. Well it was the limousine guy and he was complaining that we were not paying him his limo rates. I basically had to tell him that we pay a rate for transportation and if he want to transport them in a limousine them that is up to him, but won’t change the rates. Guy was irate and felt we should pay him to take low income people to their physical therapy in a limo

[bluedogok]

A friend with who is a commander with Austin-Travis County EMS in Texas helped get their program started in 2009, they had been testing it since 2007. It is mainly used for rapid response in the large events around Austin like the ACL Fest, SXSW, Texas Relays, ROT Rally and now at COTA events where a regular ambulance respond time would be more affected by crowded roads and more people. They have been adding bikes (BMW F/G650) and medics to their fleet.

Well if it makes you feel better. Insurance companies (mainly Medicare who only covers emergency ambulance) can deny a ambulance claim if they do not feel it was a emergency transport. So they abuse the system and hopefully get billed for it...although they will probably just abuse they system in another way and that is to not pay for their medical bills anyways.

I agree though, so many people that abuse this….but sometimes it is not even just the members I worked for Medicaid (low income state insurance) for 5 years as the lead of provider enrollment and I once had this limousine company that wanted to be a provider for “non-medical transportation”. Well long story short I approved them because they had the proper credentials and about a month later I get a call from the front desk saying there was a provider here to see me. Well it was the limousine guy and he was complaining that we were not paying him his limo rates. I basically had to tell him that we pay a rate for transportation and if he want to transport them in a limousine them that is up to him, but won’t change the rates. Guy was irate and felt we should pay him to take low income people to their physical therapy in a limo

A former roommate in OKC was a paramedic (early to mid 90's, he quit a few months after the OKC bombing) and he said they had many "VA Frequent Flyers" who would call for a transport to the VA Hospital and then they would see them walking out the hospital. It got to the point where the VA told them not to transport some of those people unless the paramedics felt it was a valid medical emergency.

[bulldog]

A friend with who is a commander with Austin-Travis County EMS in Texas helped get their program started in 2009, they had been testing it since 2007. It is mainly used for rapid response in the large events around Austin like the ACL Fest, SXSW, Texas Relays, ROT Rally and now at COTA events where a regular ambulance respond time would be more affected by crowded roads and more people. They have been adding bikes (BMW F/G650) and medics to their fleet.


A former roommate in OKC was a paramedic (early to mid 90's, he quit a few months after the OKC bombing) and he said they had many "VA Frequent Flyers" who would call for a transport to the VA Hospital and then they would see them walking out the hospital. It got to the point where the VA told them not to transport some of those people unless the paramedics felt it was a valid medical emergency.

Yeah you would be amazed how many insurance member's think it is valid to call a ambulance to get to a doctor appointment. They argue all day long as to why it is justifiable because they have no other way as if a Ambulance is a taxi. Got to the point where Medicaid had to establish a program for these people to help avoid ambulance misuse....paid for by the tax payers!

[Wrider]

A former roommate in OKC was a paramedic (early to mid 90's, he quit a few months after the OKC bombing) and he said they had many "VA Frequent Flyers" who would call for a transport to the VA Hospital and then they would see them walking out the hospital. It got to the point where the VA told them not to transport some of those people unless the paramedics felt it was a valid medical emergency.

Dad is a FF here in the Springs and he sees the exact same thing. They get called out repeatedly to the exact same places because people are faking conditions to get one of a few things...
-Medicines (like Vicodin and Percocet)
-Companionship (especially in the elderly community)
-Free-to-them transportation to the hospital

He even had one frequent flyer that got the station number and asked them to pick up food on their way over to him.

[Ezzzzy1]

Worst part about the job is the shitheads that call when they are board. That and the ones that call and you show up and there are 10 people living in the house that all want to be seen by what they think is a Doctor.

I always hated being a (hospital) taxi to homeless people as well. Oh and walking through someones house that has shit and pissed all over the carpet because they cant get to the bathroom is fun too...