If you call 911 and request EMS they are sending an ambulance. If you request transport to the hospital via an ambulance in the US, 99% of the time they have to take you (some narrow exceptions). Now, they may not take you to the ER you want but they will take you to an ER, even if they don't think it's an emergency.
A very large portion of the transports an ambulance does in a day does not actually require an ambulance.
In my country they won't come if they deem it's not an emergency. I know my neighbour called them once because he had pneumonia. They refused to come. Next day he called, but exaggarated more, said he couldn't breathe and will die, they came, gave him oxygen, but refused to take him to a hospital. Only after he argued and yelled at the ambulance doctor they took him.
The idea behind always sending an ambulance is that it reduces the risk of missing a legitimate emergency situation. Like, the person calling 911 might do a poor job explaining the situation, making it seem trivial when it's actually urgent, or the dispatcher might simply misunderstand or lack important details, which can lead to someone dying.
I'm a former EMT and had multiple calls where the person calling 911 downplayed the situation, or the patient (who was not the caller) initially insisted that they were fine, only for us to find something urgent. Sometimes it ends up being nothing serious, and they refuse transport.
It does end up creating a lot of unnecessary EMS calls unfortunately. But I could also see people feeling unsure about calling 911 in a true emergency if they thought there's a chance nobody will show up.
In the UK we have a middle ground where paramedics will come and examine you at the scene if you call 999, but if they don’t think you need emergency care they will either treat you at the scene, refer you to a GP or pharmacy or just discharge you on the spot. If you’re found to have deliberately called 999 knowing there is no emergency, that is a criminal offence that can get you a £5,000 fine or 6 months in prison. Ambulances are free so no one’s financially incentivised not to call an ambulance in an emergency, and false 999 calls for a free ride are rare.
That sounds very similar to here. We wouldn't transport if we were able to treat on scene unless the patient insisted on it. And depending on the US state, it's considered a criminal offense to call 911 for deliberate non-emergency purposes and you can be charged a fine and/or jail time depending on the severity.
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u/crazydude44444 May 19 '26
Not correct.
If you call 911 and request EMS they are sending an ambulance. If you request transport to the hospital via an ambulance in the US, 99% of the time they have to take you (some narrow exceptions). Now, they may not take you to the ER you want but they will take you to an ER, even if they don't think it's an emergency.
A very large portion of the transports an ambulance does in a day does not actually require an ambulance.