This Wednesday, I submitted a motion directing the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to report on the feasibility of implementing a program similar to Houston's Emergency Telehealth and Navigation (ETHAN) Project which utilizes emergency room physicians and technology to evaluate patients in the field and help them access healthcare more efficiently than using an ambulance as transport in non-emergency situations, as well as report on what resources would be needed to create a similar program in the City of Los Angeles.
Currently, LAFD handles approximately 1,500 emergency calls a day, with a majority being medical related. Although a majority of these medical calls are emergencies that legitimately require transport services, a significant number of these are not, taking up valuable LAFD resources out of the field. By seeking ways to reduce the number of non-emergency medical transport calls, we hope to free up LAFD resources while providing citizens access to information and the health care system.
To address a similar problem, the City of Houston, through the ETHAN project hires currently practicing emergency room physicians to sit in Houston's dispatch center to help firefighters and paramedics evaluate individuals who call 911 but may not be actually be experiencing a medical emergency. Utilizing existing technologies, the doctor will interact and evaluate with the caller/patient via video link and should the doctor find no need for medical transport, they will schedule a follow up doctor's appointment at the nearest medical facility. In cases where the doctors find no need for medical transport, they are able to locate the nearest medical facility, schedule an appointment for the patient, and arrange for non-emergency transportation. This results in patients getting the healthcare they need, while not tying up emergency resources.
Find out what's happening in Northridge-Chatsworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A program similar to Houston's would be a major benefit to Los Angeles residents, as it would make available more ambulances and paramedics for serious emergencies. It would reduce the cost to the City of transporting patients who do not need emergency transport, and would reduce the number of people using emergency rooms for non-emergency medical care.
Click here to view story on Houston's ETHAN Program.
-Mitchell Englander, Chair of Public Safety Committee
