More on how EMS is like a poorly run restaurant

I've mentioned in previous posts about how I hate that the person that took my order isn't the one bringing me my food when I go out to eat.  If it was, they would have caught that half the order is wrong.  Now we have to send it back, only for the person that could have prevented the issue to come by 10 seconds later with "Did your order not come out yet? Let me go check."

20 seconds of waiting in the kitchen would have avoided 20 minutes of waiting for an order to be redone.  But no, we need those dishes out of the pass and to the tables ASAP!  Wrong.

The more I think about it, EMS is no different.

We have Fire go flying in, take an assessment and history, perhaps start an intervention or 2 while listening for the ambulance sirens only to have the entire ballet start again.  For the patient it must be confusing that the people first in the door suddenly hand you off and disappear.  At least that's what I've gotten over the bulk of my brief stint in EMS.

We take their order, then run it through a system hoping for efficiency.

After telling their entire story a second time, another set of vital signs (Is my blood pressure what broke my arm?) and generic questions are asked.

At the ED, the patient must endure a third retelling of the story, another set of vitals, another series of standard questions only now the story begins to change.  Suddenly there's a new allergy and a history of A-fib. Why? Why not?

Our desire for efficiency at one level has led to inefficiency at others.

Next thing you know a random white jacket wanders in, half reading the EMS report while tossing it aside and starts all over again.  For the fourth time.

Imagine if the first person in the door to greet the patient in their home gave a report directly to the MD?

Imagine if the guy who took my order actually brought me my food?

Chaos, I know.  What would we do with all the other folks gumming up the works?