# Calling an ambulance versus being driven **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 2, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746 "2012-12-02T07:22:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/21 "2012-12-02T23:31:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Out of curiosity, I once asked my employer-provided insurance carrier about ambulances. The representative told me that ambulances are only covered if I was in immediate danger of dying. If not, like if I broke a leg or something (note that a broken leg [i[can\* be life-threatening), I should call a cab and they’d pay for that. I know that in your county, if you call 911 and they send you to the hospital by ambulance, it’s considered emergent. If your insurance says different, you fight them. > [@Mean Mr. Mustard](#): > > Your method got her to medical experts faster than the alternative. You done good. > > Is Grandma OK? No, he didn’t. Pre-hospital personel are medical experts. He was lucky. To everyone who says driving is preferable, how much is a life worth? Even if your fire dept is one that charges for a trip, is risking the life of your loved one worth that risk? Yes, sometimes you get lucky. Everyone who drives in a panic is putting many lives at risk; your loved one, yourself and multiple strangers. One red light can mean the difference between one patient and many. ---
**Author:** ![evasgram](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ec9cab/32.png) [@evasgram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evasgram)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/22 "2012-12-03T02:23:13Z")
My late husband had 5 heart attacks by the time he was 42 (he died with the fifth one). The first 2 he was stubborn headed and wouldn’t go by ambulance, the next 2 he had wised up and let me call them. That was so much better. I probably could have gotten him to the hospital in just about the same amount of time, but they were able to get him started on meds before getting there, so it helped slow things down and lessen the damage to his heart. I feel they probably helped save his life. With his fifth one, it took them a long time to get to us and he unfortunately died. I don’t think the outcome would have been different though, if I would have tried to take him myself. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/23 "2012-12-03T02:48:00Z")
In the spring during an emergency blood pressure episode I was sent from my Dr’s office to the ER. They told my husband to drive me, faster than an ambulance, and they called the ER who knew I was coming. (I had anticipated having to wait but was surprisingly triaged in ahead of a guy who was actually bleeding from his head!:eek:) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/24 "2012-12-03T02:52:43Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > (I had anticipated having to wait but was surprisingly triaged in ahead of a guy who was actually bleeding from his head!:eek:) Head wounds can bleed out of all proportion to their seriousness. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/25 "2012-12-03T02:55:49Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > If you’re in the US, you don’t pay for the fire truck. The people on the fire truck are well trained medical personal. Maybe they didn’t have to do anything to help you, that doesn’t mean they never help. When pre-hospital personell are called to a home, they have no idea what they’re walking into. A simple heart attack could be a 400 lb guy that takes 4 guys to lift. > > In every state I’ve worked, if the medic unit feels the patient is critical enough they transport and there is no charge. Otherwise, they call a private ambulance service to transport. That you, or your insurance will be billed for. > > The fire truck and the medic unit will stablize the patient before they are transported, so their chances of surviving the ride are much better than in your car. > There are times driving to the ER is perfectly acceptable, but not for heart attack or stroke. Even if you only live 2 minutes from the hospital, it takes time to get the patient into and out of the car. Time is critical with any cardiac event. I appreciate your posts in various threads, but every time we’ve had to call 911 a fire truck has pulled up to the curb, lights flashing, and nobody even gets out. Here in the US. And we’re billed for it. You can’t argue with fact, if you want to compare my bank statements against the medical bills and dates. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/26 "2012-12-03T03:01:28Z")
In my area typically a medical call will involve fire, police, and ambulance. Cops are cruising around the city and can often get someplace within a minute or two . They have basic first aid training and AEDs and can help secure the scene if needed. Fire/First responders come next from a nearby station in rescue truck (like an ambulance but not set up for transpoft) with more sophisticated equipment and training, and finally the ambulance comes from the hospital or a staging area to transport the patient. Police and fire don’t charge but a typical ambluance transport, and I’ve processed hundres of them, is north of a thousand dollars, even for a couple of miles. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/27 "2012-12-03T03:20:23Z")
BTW we have both been “helicoptered out” for different medical crises. We’re not neophytes to the system. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/28 "2012-12-03T05:21:17Z")
A couple months after my valve repair surgery I developed what felt like a really painful chest cold. One night I went to urgent care and upon taking my pulse the doctor immediately wanted to send me to their ER which is two blocks away. She insisted on wanting to call me an ambulance and I had to sign a release to be allowed to drive myself. Id been driving for two weeks and figured id make it two more blocks thus saving myself a $800 two block ambulance ride. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/29 "2012-12-03T17:44:04Z")
Is it really quicker to drive, even if you’re close to the ER? You call an ambulance, in most cases it shows up very quickly. The EMTs provide medical care - albeit not as much as the ER does, but they generally can spot something that needs to happen fast and provide stabilization and a fair bit of medical care. They also call ahead to the ER and the ER prepares to meet the ambulance and have all the necessary equipment and people assembled. The ambulance can also run red lights and move much faster than a standard car. You drive, you don’t run red lights if there’s traffic coming, you don’t drive particularly fast because the cars aren’t getting out of your way. You then need to get into the ER and wait for them to do triage. It’s a crapshoot IMO, and I’ve unfortunately been the person making the car-versus-ambulance call at least 3 times in the past year. The first time I chose car, and I think I chose wrong. The second time I remembered the first time and chose ambulance and am absolutely sure I made the right decision. The third time I chose car, for a much more minor incident, and I’m also sure I made the right decision. Nowadays, unless I’m absolutely certain of the car method, I choose ambulance. Everyone I’m likely to be helping has insurance that will cover it, and I think I’d rather be safe than sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/30 "2012-12-03T18:16:15Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Is it really quicker to drive, even if you’re close to the ER? > . Depends on where you live. We live 10 blocks from the ER and in the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive you could have walked there. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/31 "2012-12-03T20:44:48Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I think you did the right thing for the reasons you stated. An ambulance would have taken a lot longer. You actually got her better treatment, faster. > And for some reason, when you call 911 with a medical emergency they always send a fire truck, too, which you have to pay for although they’ve never contributed a thing whenever we’ve had to call. The ambulance may have been tied up. The guys on the truck are also EMTs/Paramedics and will serve as first responders, stabilizing the patient until transport gets there. The quicker a trained person gets their hands on the patient, the better. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/32 "2012-12-03T20:55:44Z")
If you have any worry that a heart may stop beating or a person may stop breathing in the next 15 minutes, it’s ambulance time. Mostly for the reason mentioned already: you can’t to CPR in the backseat of a Prius. Better to wait where you have a nice hard floor in case you need it and someone brings a vehicle they can do CPR in if you need it - not to mention has an AED. Broken bones, bleeding that stops when you press a towel over it, abdominal pain, etc…sure, get a car ride if you’re close (please don’t try to drive yourself) and it doesn’t hurt too much to get in a car. But suspected heart attacks are ambulance time, unless you can literally carry the person to the ER in your arms. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/33 "2012-12-03T21:31:17Z")
First off, I’m an ER nurse in one particular location, so that’s what I’ll talk about, second off, I don’t know shit about money, and work hard at not learning. Having said that… Shame on you people saying ya done good and got better care faster, you speak of what you do not know. Everything that happens in the first 15 min in our ER for an MI workup could have been done on you couch by our paramedics. They can even make the detrimination to take you directly to the local STEMI recieving hospital where you’d get the right care for a heart attack, shaving perhaps 30-40 mins off the time it takes to reopen a clogged vessel. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/34 "2012-12-03T21:35:32Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Shame on you people saying ya done good and got better care faster, you speak of what you do not know. > > Everything that happens in the first 15 min in our ER for an MI workup could have been done on you couch by our paramedics. > > They can even make the detrimination to take you directly to the local STEMI recieving hospital where you’d get the right care for a heart attack, shaving perhaps 30-40 mins off the time it takes to reopen a clogged vessel. That’s kind of what I was thinking - people seem to be assuming that care starts only when the ambulance gets to the ER, which ain’t true. The paramedics can do a lot of stuff either in your house or in the ambulance itself, and can also help make the determination whether or not an ER visit is even needed. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/35 "2012-12-03T21:42:23Z")
There’s a great thread you can find by Googling “Things I Learned From My Patients”, and in it, the subject of car vs. ambulance is brought up. Most of the doctors agreed there were circumstances that warranted what they called (I think) the Homie Ambulance Service. There were even published studies done about it. Basically, if you’re shot in a drive by, you stand a better chance if your friends drive you to the ER and throw you out at the entrance. (There was no mention if someone called ahead, but I imagine the ER gets a heads up when they hear about the shooting on the police scanner.) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/36 "2012-12-03T21:44:53Z")
Hit send instead of caps lock, so continuing… If you code enroute, the medics can do everything I can do, and do it immediately. The geniuses who built my ER put the public entrance right next to the main hosp entrance which make its as far from my high acuity room as you can get. How quickly we can respond to someone passed out in the car can very depending on what’s going on inside, the medics only have one pt to worry about. No offense to the OP, each situation is different, and you can only rarely be sure which was necessary until after the fact. General aside to everyone else: if it take 3-4 neighbors/family to get the pt into the car because they broke their leg, or are very obese, but you don’t want to call an ambulance, bring the crew with you, it’s a mistake to think we have a lifting team just idling around for you. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/37 "2012-12-03T21:52:30Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > There’s a great thread you can find by Googling “Things I Learned From My Patients”, and in it, the subject of car vs. ambulance is brought up. Most of the doctors agreed there were circumstances that warranted what they called (I think) the Homie Ambulance Service. There were even published studies done about it. Basically, if you’re shot in a drive by, you stand a better chance if your friends drive you to the ER and throw you out at the entrance. (There was no mention if someone called ahead, but I imagine the ER gets a heads up when they hear about the shooting on the police scanner.) What police scanner? Did the homies bring you to the closest hospital, or the right one? Local variables are not to be underestimated. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/38 "2012-12-03T22:15:30Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > There’s a great thread you can find by Googling “Things I Learned From My Patients”, and in it, the subject of car vs. ambulance is brought up. Most of the doctors agreed there were circumstances that warranted what they called (I think) the Homie Ambulance Service. There were even published studies done about it. Basically, if you’re shot in a drive by, you stand a better chance if your friends drive you to the ER and throw you out at the entrance. (There was no mention if someone called ahead, but I imagine the ER gets a heads up when they hear about the shooting on the police scanner.) I remember something like that on cops once. Instead of waiting for an ambulance the cops just tossed the victim in the back seat and made it to the hospital before the ambulance even left for the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/39 "2012-12-03T22:16:02Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > A baby at my house went into convulsions once. We lived just down the road from the hospital. His mother was panicking so I rang 000. The ambulance was quick, but not as quick as just jumping in the car. But youd have to put him in a car seat and what if he chokes, or hurts himself. When a baby needs quick medical attention and should be closely watched while getting to it, it seems very silly to accept the large risk (including delay) associated with strapping him into a car seat in return for the very small benefit of extra safety in the unlikely event of a crash. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746/40 "2012-12-03T23:15:11Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > What police scanner? I have to agree. In general, in the emergency rooms I’ve been to and worked in, no one is sitting around listening to a police scanner, even if it’s not a busy time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-an-ambulance-versus-being-driven/642746.md?page=3)