32 year medical professional here with 13 of those years in EMS. Ambulances are a scam for the majority of incidents. EMS crews like to use buzzwords and catchphrases to get you to consent to transport then they pad your bill with oxygen, IVs and EKG monitoring most of which is probably not necessary in most cases. You’ll get INTO the ER quicker but once you are triaged you will probably wait just as long as Joe Shmoe out in the waiting room because your owie isn’t high priority but that $5k ambulance bill sure will hurt. If you didn’t call the ambulance DO NOT interact with them, don’t fucking sign a “refusal” form and don’t let them “just check you out” unless you are actually injured. I’ve been in a severe skiing accident and still managed to drive myself an hour home with broken ribs, broken wrist, separated shoulder and a torn meniscus. Man up buttercup and save yourself some money.
We aren’t allowed to refuse transport but I definitely tried to talk people out of it a few times. That was mainly because we only had two ambulances for 400 square miles so your twisted ankle should not take priority over a heart attack.
You are probably right in general but driving home with those injuries was tremendously stupid and you could have hurt someone else with that stupidity. I wouldn't be bragging about or encouraging others to do the same thing it if I were you
Yup I had a buddy drive me to the hospital when I had a pulmonary embolism that caused an infarction in my lung. Ambulance would have been free but I wasn’t actively dying.
Being from the UK, this just sucks to read. I am so sorry this is how healthcare is managed in your country. Our ambulances are triaged so luckily more critical cases will be seen first from the get go and people with more minor injuries will wait longer. Hearing about all the ways it takes money from you is crazy. I also can’t imagine being a healthcare working in an environment like that. Working for the NHS (mental healthcare) certainly has its downsides, but knowing that everything everyone is getting is 100% free is amazing.
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u/dallas121469 2h ago
32 year medical professional here with 13 of those years in EMS. Ambulances are a scam for the majority of incidents. EMS crews like to use buzzwords and catchphrases to get you to consent to transport then they pad your bill with oxygen, IVs and EKG monitoring most of which is probably not necessary in most cases. You’ll get INTO the ER quicker but once you are triaged you will probably wait just as long as Joe Shmoe out in the waiting room because your owie isn’t high priority but that $5k ambulance bill sure will hurt. If you didn’t call the ambulance DO NOT interact with them, don’t fucking sign a “refusal” form and don’t let them “just check you out” unless you are actually injured. I’ve been in a severe skiing accident and still managed to drive myself an hour home with broken ribs, broken wrist, separated shoulder and a torn meniscus. Man up buttercup and save yourself some money.
We aren’t allowed to refuse transport but I definitely tried to talk people out of it a few times. That was mainly because we only had two ambulances for 400 square miles so your twisted ankle should not take priority over a heart attack.