uber_for_cats

Look their own sales pitch in the article is the death knell for this startup.

Protocol with 911:

* Person has suspected heart attack symptoms.

* 911 is called, short triage on the phone.

* Ambulance is dispatched.

Protocol with this new startup:

* Person has suspected heart attack symptoms.

* Skype with doctor, short triage on Skype.

* Doctor quickly trains nurse (conveniently available on site) to take EKG (presumably while patient is grasping his chest).

* Nurse takes first EKG in her life.

* Doctor reads EKG, and calls 911.

Who in their right mind would call a gatekeeper instead of 911 in an emergency?

Right, so this startup introduces an additional delay / filter before 911 is called. I would not want that for my loved ones in an emergency.

How can you claim to get an ambulance to the scene faster than 911 (on a practical scale)? 911 / the ambulance are first responders.

It's not going to seem so outdated when you or one of your loved ones has a heart attack, and the ambulance is rushing him to the hospital where an interventional cardiologist is going to unblock his/her heart arteries in an operating room.

It looks like this product introduces an extra delay before an ambulance is called - terrible idea. When you have a heart attack, you want an ambulance, not an Uber driver (UberFIRST-AID) or a Skype call with a doctor (this startup).