Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Any scheme which rewards someone for referral can be considered a violation of federal law and subject the doer to fines and even criminal prosecution. Whether or not an occasional batch of cookies qualifies as a kickback will depend upon the facts and circumstances, but I would suggest that a regular habit of bringing gifts might be looked upon with suspicion. When I held public office, it was common for people to bring gifts by at Christmas time, such as whisky, cookies, candy, and the like. I returned all the whisky with a " thanks but no thanks letter, " and all the other goodies were placed in the courthouse lobby for the public to consume. Even the " appearance " of wrongdoing must be avoided; so I would advise anyone owning a service that depends upon referrals to refrain from bestowing gifts of any nature to the referrer. Gene E. Gandy, JD, LP 4250 East Aquarius Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 520 299-4448 home and fax (call before sending fax) 903 530-9826 cell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 The difference between a marketing tool and a gift is that the marketing tool is distributed widely to a variety of recipients while a gift is aimed at one in particular. Having pens with the service name printed on them is OK so long as they are given to the public at large and not just to a referring entity. Same with notepads and such. The line can be vague, but, like pornography, the Courts know it when they see it. If it doesn't pass the smell test, then it's probably wrong. GG E. Gandy, JD, LP 4250 East Aquarius Drive Tucson, AZ 85718 520 299-4448 home and fax (call before sending fax) 903 530-9826 cell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 I have heard from some employees of the transfer services that the nursing homes call them for everything no matter what, a friend of mine works for a transfer service and he has told me that they make all kind of calls that should have been sent by the 911 provider that services that area. According to him most of the nurses don't care or they use the " I just got this patient today " and he knows for sure that she has been the nurse the whole time. The nursing homes to me is where the biggest problem lies, they aren't looking out for what is best for the patient. On the other hand the service he works for in under contract with a local hospital and they do a lot of emergency transfers to other facilities because of 911 providers that don't transport to the closest " appropriate " facility. I am not trying to defend transfer services by any means but we as 911 providers should be ensuring that all patients transported are taken to the most appropriate facility even if means ground transporting a few minutes further. K Lowe EMT I Re: Re: EMS profession You're indicting the whole EMS transfer industry based on a narrow and obviously jaundiced perception of how a few providers behave. I work for a service that is MICU (not capable.........MICU!) and we do " routine " transfers, as well as critical care transportation of patients- lots of 'em. You can't put EMS provision in neat little boxes- it's become too complex an industry for that kind of generalization. I'm not jumpin' your stuff, but you need to get a few years under your belt and keep your eyes and brain circuits open. Jay Garner, AAS, LP Re: Re: EMS profession > OK...so what about your grandfather or mine that is in abc nursing > home.....and they have that syncopal episode....and the nursing home calls > abc ems..(transfer service) with the county 911 service down the > street....because they know that when the transfer service arrives they will > be bringing candy, pizza, cookies, pens, pads, etc....and if they have a 30 > min eta or longer well that is ok..we will just put gramps on a nasel canula > and he will be ok till they arrive...and they send the 2 emt-b crew to > transport him to the hospital....that is what i don't understand and that is > why there should be MEDICAL TRANSFER SERVICES not EMERGENCY MEDICAL > SERVICES....EMERGENCY MEANS JUST THAT....NOT 45 MIN ETA.....AND WE HAVE > GOODIES FOR YOU IF YOU CALL US.... > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Thanks, Gene. I didn't think I'd been sniffing too much decon spray again... Back in the early 90's, I worked for a private service that would delivery (alternately) veggie trays or danish/cookie assortments to nursing homes/hospitals. If the recipients were REALLY lucky, they would get pies from House of Pies. Christmas would find us in the apparatus bay flocking Christmas trees to be delivered to the Nursing Homes we serviced. We had a reserve unit that rarely was placed in service. If we were placed in that rig, we knew we were in for a hungry day of delivering goodies. It's amazing how many cookies or danishes didn't survive the trip. 8^) Of course, our boss would FEED US extremely well, at least once a month, and did he throw a SERIOUS Christmas party for the staff! He even shut down for the night, so EVERYBODY could go. And he threw me quite the Bachelor party, too! Those were the days... Barry E. McClung, Paramedic/Crew Chief North Blanco County EMS City, Texas Re: Re: EMS profession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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