BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Blount County and ambulance provider American Medical Response will enter into a new agreement on July 1. The county said this new agreement will shift the focus from on-time performance to patient care.
Currently, AMR has time limits on how quickly they need to get to a patient, ranging from 10 to 45 minutes based on the severity of the case. The county can fine AMR if they don't reach those milestones.
"When you get to a situation where time is all that's focused on, sometimes care takes a back seat," said Don Stallions, the Director of General Services for Blount County.
"Studies have shown that the 3 or 4 minutes extra is not as important as the care of the treatment that the patients receive," Stallions said.
Stallions said time will be a factor when assessing AMR's performance, but not the only factor.
"They're still required to be on time but it's not as strict and it's not as heavy-handed," Stallions said.
Joshua Spencer, the Regional Director of AMR, said this will help AMR care better for patients.
"This contract takes into effect some other things that are important in our industry," Spencer said.
Spencer said that in addition to offering ambulance services to emergency rooms, the new contract allows AMR to send patients to telehealth, giving them chance to speak with a nurse on the phone instead of having emergency crews spend valuable time responding to non-emergency cases.
The contract could even allow AMR to get patients an Uber or Lyft rideshare to an urgent care facility if the situation calls for it.
"The right care for the right patient at the right time," Spencer said.
Stallions said Blount County is trying to modernize its ambulance response, and it's one of the first places in the country to do it this way.
The contract also creates a medical director position in Blount County to oversee all of the emergency services. The medical director will grade AMR on its compliance with the patient care standards.