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Plano OKs ordinance to bill for whole-blood transfusions as paramedics pilot prehospital program
Summary
City council adopted an ordinance allowing the city to bill for whole blood used in prehospital transfusions. Fire Chief Chris Bickerstaff and Dr. Gambhir described a pilot program starting this summer, partnerships with Carter Blood and Medical City Plano, clinical protocols and an estimated program cost of about $35,000 a year.
Plano’s City Council approved an ordinance to allow the city to bill for whole blood administered by paramedics as part of a planned prehospital blood program.
Fire Chief Chris Bickerstaff and the department’s medical director, Dr. Gambhir, briefed council on the clinical rationale and operational plan. Dr. Gambhir said earlier adoption of blood for hemorrhaging patients can be life-saving and that advances adopted from military medicine make field transfusion feasible. "This program is going to save lives," he said during the presentation.
Staff described protocols for identifying hemorrhagic shock and explained that a specially trained squad based at Station 4 (Squad One) will carry the blood and a blood warmer. The department expects to partner with Carter Blood for product supply and with Medical City Plano to use transfused units when hospitals can accept them, reducing waste. Staff estimated the pilot program’s projected cost at about $35,000, primarily for blood product purchases, and said the ordinance would allow the city to recoup direct blood costs by itemizing them on ambulance transport billing.
Council questioned timelines, clinical criteria, dispatch adjustments and scalability. Staff said training and protocols are in place, that consent processes will be followed when feasible and that the pilot would begin in the early summer. The ordinance passed on council vote.
