Caller livestream gets EMS resources where they're needed most

Note: Dispatchers using Prepared Live have the ability to blur caller-shared livestream prior to receiving it OR while it is ongoing. No dispatcher is required to view live video that they do not wish to, even if they would like to collect it for use by field responders or another staff member.

Nearly 30 million times a year, EMS professionals are called into action as the result of a 9-1-1 call. Unfortunately, local and national paramedic shortages are causing increased uncertainty and instability in the provision of care. In New York, for example, the number of certified EMS providers declined nearly 10% over the last decade.

Why it matters

With the services of EMS increasing in scarcity, it’s paramount that agencies effectively allocate their resources. However, assessing a medical emergency over the phone on a 9-1-1 call can be incredibly difficult, forcing dispatchers and supervisors to make critical decisions based on less-than-ideal information.

Adding media to the equation provides emergency personnel with a new source of information that can completely alter the decision-making process for agencies. Here’s how…

How media can help

Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office (ND) received a 9-1-1 call from a young woman who had fallen off her patio. She was apprehensive and began crying hysterically over the phone.

On the other end of the line, the dispatcher wanted to determine if the woman needed a life flight for urgent transportation to the hospital. With a limited number of helicopters and planes available, it’s vital to only deploy them for cases where they are definitively needed.

In the absence of Prepared Live, depending on the caller’s description of an emergency, a life flight might be dispatched for a less severe emergency that did not warrant a life flight.

In this case, the dispatcher used Prepared Live to collect a livestream of the fracture and verified that no bones were sticking out, confirming that it wasn’t a compound fracture. Without the ability to obtain media for the caller, the call would have been escalated to a critical emergency, with the nearest hospital 50 miles away.

Implications for the future of 9-1-1 and EMS

Media shared by callers directly with 9-1-1 telecommunicators and EMS personnel can help these professionals ascertain exactly what type of response to send to the scene. Simultaneously, telecommunicators gain an enhanced ability to provide pre-arrival instructions to emergent parties. From start to finish, emergency response evolves by incorporating media from the caller.

If you'd like to discover what it'd be like to incorporate media into your agency's processes, fill out the interest form below.