Sandy Springs to begin connecting certain 911 callers directly with ER doctors

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - Sandy Springs will soon offer a new telehealth service that allows 911 operators to connect callers directly with emergency room doctors, bypassing the need for a pricey ambulance ride in certain non-emergency situations. 

Patrick Flaherty, the EMS Section Chief for the Sandy Springs Fire Department, explained that the city has seen a steady increase in low-priority calls. 

The service is designed for medical issues that require a doctor's assistance but are not high-priority emergencies.

"What this allows us to do is provide our patients with direct access to ER physicians," Flaherty said.

Flaherty said that approximately one-third of the calls to the 911 center are medical issues that aren't acute.

"They don’t actually constitute a threat to someone’s life or their safety," he added.

In effect, those lower-priority calls can divert resources from more serious emergencies where time is of the essence. 

"The issue with us with these low acuity non-emergent calls is they do take the trucks and ambulances out of service. Therefore, they can’t respond to more serious calls," Flaherty explained.

The new program connects callers virtually with doctors from Brightside Health Physicians, saving city manpower and reducing the cost of ambulance services for callers. 

"The usual wait time is about two minutes from the time that we contact Brightside to when they are on the phone with the physician," Flaherty said.

Sandy Springs medics have already begun offering the service to patients on location at certain calls using city-issued iPads.

"We’ve already started running this in the field. We’re currently looking to go live, hopefully, by the end of September with the dispatch portion of it," Flaherty stated.

The city also announced that the final phase of the initiative will include hiring a community paramedic to work directly with residents. Other cities are reportedly considering adopting a similar model.

Patrick Flaherty, the EMS Section Chief for the Sandy Springs Fire Department, explained that the city has seen a steady increase in low-priority calls. The city said in a press release that the service would be paid for through a patient's health insurance plan, but no one would be turned away due to lack of insurance.