When Minutes Can Mean Lives
According to an article by Forbes contributor William Haseltine, over the last seventeen years, India has gone from a fragmented and confusing emergency medical response system, which frequently failed its citizens, to a comprehensive system offering greatly improved access and much more rapid speed of response. This redevelopment focused on four key areas:
- Unifying points of contact, replacing a multiple emergency numbers with a single universal toll-free number, and improving the routing of calls to appropriate local emergency responders
- Increasing the number and specialization of ambulances, to allow for more rapid deployment of emergency responders and improving treatment at the scene of the emergency
- Improving the availability of compassionate care, with increased access to telemedicine options, and an extended checklist to ensure those suffering medical emergencies receive properly care.
- Increasing access to private medical institutions for those who may not otherwise be able to afford it.
All of these items have had the effect of improving emergency medical coverage across the nation, while also offering cost efficiencies, for both public sector institutions and public-private partnerships, to the point where India’s Emergency Management and Research Institute has been able to expand operations into Sri Lanka.
