Obesity weighs down emergency costs

There is near unanimous agreement that obesity drives health spending higher. We understand this regarding diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure and other diseases.

I was struck by this additional cost that certainly never before crossed my mind. It is an indicator of how interrelated are the hidden costs of health care, and why it is so hard to get the health system under control.

The paragraphs below are lifted from “How To Purchase A Power Cot,” a sales brochure from MonsterMedic, a manufactuer of equipment used by Emergency Medical Technicians on ambulances.

Consider the additional cost for workers’ compensation insurance, heavier duty equipment, lost days to injury, short and long term disability insurance, not to mention pain and suffering of the medic.

“It is widely known that patients in the U.S. on average are getting heavier. Some experts estimate that about two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese; 3.8 million people are over 300 pounds, over 400,000 carry 400 pounds or more.

“Obesity creates more medical risk factors and consequently, more emergency calls. A heavier patient creates a hardship for the EMT as the amount of weight to lift is more, the risk of cot tipping is higher, and the loss of control of the cot is more prevalent. Of course, this affects the safe transfer of the patient.

“It also presents a risk to the EMT. More weight to lift creates more physical strain on the EMT, especially to their back, shoulders, and knees. The highest percentage of the EMT back injuries occur when they need to bend down over the patient to raise them from the ground. Another common accident is when the EMT has to react unexpectedly to a cot that has become out of control.

“It’s not difficult to connect the dots.

“As patients become bigger, the EMTs face more physical challenges when transporting them. A look at current statistics point out that ambulance cart tipping is increasing and EMT back injuries are on the rise.

“As the general population changes, we must adjust the way we serve them.”

Now that is an understatement.