The primary objective of this retrospective descriptive study is to determine the percentage of on-line medical direction (OLMD) contact occurrence and the patients’ chief complaints in non-transported Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained from EMS patient care reports (PCRs) of non-transported calls from 10 EMS stations for 3 consecutive months. Overall, 7,178 emergency calls were made to the 10 EMS centers. There were 1,791 non-transported calls. PCRs from cancelled calls, deceased patients, patients not found, and those lacking a station number were excluded. The remaining 1,219 calls satisfied the inclusion criteria. The categories of non-transported calls were medical, trauma, and not specified (NS). Medical cases represented the highest proportion of non-transported calls with 679 cases (55.7%). Trauma cases comprised 271 calls (22.2%), while 269 (22%) non-transported calls were not specified. The chief complaints of non-transported calls were normal medical patient (42.7%), fainting (24%) and shortness of breath (24%). OLMD contact did not occur in the majority of non-transported calls (761, 62.5%). Only 321 calls (26.3%) involved OLMD contact. The occurrence of contact was NS in 137 calls (11.2%). In conclusion, this study reveals that OLMD contact occurred in a limited percentage (26.3%) of non-transported calls. OLMD contact did not occur in the vast majority (62.5%) of non-transported calls. This study recommends the revision of the medical director role and its associated responsibilities, the establishment of a mandatory technological reporting system, a quality review of the non-transported calls’ PCRs, and strict measures regarding patient refusals and/or non-transportation.
 

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