Another Arizona fire district is joining a state program under which emergency medical services agencies can be reimbursed for providing care to a patient or referring them to an appropriate destination for care rather than automatically transporting them to an emergency department.
The Department of Health Services says the Rio Rico Medical and Fire District in Santa Cruz County became the sixth EMS agency to be recognized as a so-called treat and refer EMS agency.
The department says the program was established because EMS providers routinely get 911 calls for patients who need health-related assistance but who don't require ambulance transport to an emergency department.
Other participating agencies are the Golder Ranch Fire District in the Tucson area and fire and medical rescue departments for Surprise, Buckeye, Chandler and Tempe.
