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Are paramedics/ambulances so unregulated in the US that it's /not/ a bat-shit crazy idea to suggest Uber Ambulances?

TylerE 9y ago
Not really. There are plenty of private ambulance services in the US. They generally deal with things like transporting a medically frail person to see a doctor in a different city, things like that. Non emergency, mostly. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/31/style/private-ambulances-when-to-use-them.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/31/style/private-ambulances-w... (yes, over 30 years old, but most of it still holds true)
- switch007 9y ago
  Thanks for the link!
- newfoundglory 9y ago
  I didn't realize there were public ambulance services in the US. When I was hit by a car I was definitely taken to hospital by a private ambulance as an emergency patient.
Spooky23 9y ago
Nah, there’s certification and usually contracts with municipalities for response to emergencies. It’s a real mix though... paid fire dapartments, volunteers, and private operators all respond to emergencies.
adventured 9y ago
There are a lot of private ambulance services in the US, they're anything but unregulated though as you'd expect with anything in the US medical field (one of the most regulated industries on earth). There's no theoretical reason why Uber couldn't get into the driving side of the business, with human drivers. Their future is in autonomous however, which will never be the ambulance business (it will never be autonomous, ambulance drivers frequently have to break standard driving laws in emergencies, drive at high speeds, drive around vehicles, etc).
- TylerE 9y ago
  Once automation gets good enough it'll probably be better at it then human drivers (imagine weaving through traffic, that sort of thing. It would also be able to do things like reroute in real time to avoid congestion. You'll still need warm bodies in the back for life support, but I see no reason that the human in the front seat can't be replaced by sufficiently advanced technology.
  - kelnos 9y ago
    > reroute in real time to avoid congestion. Hell, in this ideal future where most or all of the rest of traffic is also autonomous, you don't even need to avoid congestion -- you just "phone ahead" along the route to tell any cars in the way to, well, get out of the way. As long as you don't have standstill traffic (which might actually be something you can eliminate as a general rule with a fully-autonomous, networked fleet), you're fine.
- switch007 9y ago
  > It will never be autonomous, ambulance drivers frequently have to break standard driving laws in emergencies, drive at high speeds, drive around vehicles, etc). And because they have to perform emergency medical treatment, right?! Are we talking about different things - a mini hospital on wheels staffed by highly trained paramedics, and glorified taxis for the elderly/non-critical?
  - chiefalchemist 9y ago
    Even a gloried taxi will likely need the human touch if you will for people who might need assistance.
  - kelnos 9y ago
    Some ambulances are just glorified taxis, others are staffed with EMTs who can do more. If it weren't for the need to drive in a "non-standard" manner, you could likely save on costs by having an autonomous vehicle staffed by an EMT. The EMT can't also drive the vehicle, after all.

Not really. There are plenty of private ambulance services in the US. They generally deal with things like transporting a medically frail person to see a doctor in a different city, things like that. Non emergency, mostly. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/31/style/private-ambulances-when-to-use-them.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/31/style/private-ambulances-w... (yes, over 30 years old, but most of it still holds true)

switch007 9y ago
Thanks for the link!
newfoundglory 9y ago
I didn't realize there were public ambulance services in the US. When I was hit by a car I was definitely taken to hospital by a private ambulance as an emergency patient.

Spooky23 9y ago

Nah, there’s certification and usually contracts with municipalities for response to emergencies. It’s a real mix though... paid fire dapartments, volunteers, and private operators all respond to emergencies.

adventured 9y ago

There are a lot of private ambulance services in the US, they're anything but unregulated though as you'd expect with anything in the US medical field (one of the most regulated industries on earth). There's no theoretical reason why Uber couldn't get into the driving side of the business, with human drivers. Their future is in autonomous however, which will never be the ambulance business (it will never be autonomous, ambulance drivers frequently have to break standard driving laws in emergencies, drive at high speeds, drive around vehicles, etc).

TylerE 9y ago
Once automation gets good enough it'll probably be better at it then human drivers (imagine weaving through traffic, that sort of thing. It would also be able to do things like reroute in real time to avoid congestion. You'll still need warm bodies in the back for life support, but I see no reason that the human in the front seat can't be replaced by sufficiently advanced technology.
- kelnos 9y ago
  > reroute in real time to avoid congestion. Hell, in this ideal future where most or all of the rest of traffic is also autonomous, you don't even need to avoid congestion -- you just "phone ahead" along the route to tell any cars in the way to, well, get out of the way. As long as you don't have standstill traffic (which might actually be something you can eliminate as a general rule with a fully-autonomous, networked fleet), you're fine.
switch007 9y ago
> It will never be autonomous, ambulance drivers frequently have to break standard driving laws in emergencies, drive at high speeds, drive around vehicles, etc). And because they have to perform emergency medical treatment, right?! Are we talking about different things - a mini hospital on wheels staffed by highly trained paramedics, and glorified taxis for the elderly/non-critical?
- chiefalchemist 9y ago
  Even a gloried taxi will likely need the human touch if you will for people who might need assistance.
- kelnos 9y ago
  Some ambulances are just glorified taxis, others are staffed with EMTs who can do more. If it weren't for the need to drive in a "non-standard" manner, you could likely save on costs by having an autonomous vehicle staffed by an EMT. The EMT can't also drive the vehicle, after all.