A plan to equip paramedics with high-tech information devices that would enhance patient treatment while improving bill collection for ambulance services cleared two Los Angeles City Council committees Monday.
The Public Safety and Personnel committees forwarded to the full council two proposed contracts with independent companies chosen to implement the plan.
Under the first proposed contract, Scan Health Inc. -- better known as Sansio -- would lease "handheld tablet personal computers" that can generate electronic patient care records to the LAFD.
Using the device, dispatchers would be able to transmit information about a patient to paramedics en route to administer emergency aid and allow then to forward the information to doctors at the hospital.
Data about the emergency medical service would eventually be sent to a billing and collection agency, Advanced Data Processing Inc.
Under the second proposed contract, ADPI would take a 5.5 percent cut of net collections.
City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana recommended both contracts, saying services would be improved and help the city meet new federal mandates for electronic health records.
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Earlier this month, City Controller Wendy Greuel released an audit showing the city billed a total of $553 million for fiscal year 2008-09, but collected only $293 million.
According to the audit, the "most egregious" examples of uncollected funds are Emergency Medical Services ambulance rides, where the city collected only 38 percent of the money it is owed.
