Aids to the Delivery of Ambulatory Medical Care

A large fraction of medical care is delivered in ambulatory settings. It is a hypothesis of this program that a significant fraction of physician-patient encounters can be safely managed by paramedics with no past medical experience and with a minimum of training (about four weeks), operating under well-defined guidance protocols. The paramedic using the protocols can either substitute for the physician on any given visit, or can perform a substantial prephysician workup, thus saving physician time and enhancing the thoroughness of the patient evaluation.