Legislative auditors cite long waits, equipment and training problems in interfacility ambulance transfers; recommend local control and clearer rate-setting

Brian Dean, the legislative deputy auditor general, told the committee June 18 that a recent audit of Utah’s ground ambulance system focused on interfacility transfers and how the state sets statewide rates. "We specifically focused on how inter facility transfers . . . are licensed and how Utah sets statewide rates," Dean said.

The auditors reported numerous complaints from hospitals, including long waits for ambulances to arrive for transfers, faulty equipment and poor staff training. "In 1 case, a patient was being transported in the wintertime, but the ambulance heating system didn't work," Dean said, and auditors also documented communication breakdowns between hospitals and dispatch that left patients waiting "30, 45 minutes, an hour." Tanner Cox, lead auditor on the project, said the auditors received complaints from multiple hospitals and providers across the state.

The audit drew a distinction between 911…