Far Eastern Memorial Hospital collaborates with New Taipei Fire Department to launch Doctor Car program

        In order to improve the efficiency of emergency rescue, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital signed a memorandum of cooperation with the New Taipei City Fire Department on January 29th, launching the "Doctor Car Physician Response Team" to allow doctors to accompany ambulances on duty, realizing a new model of "pre hospital medical treatment", supplementing the advanced medical treatment that EMT cannot perform under regulatory restrictions, and implementing Far Eastern Memorial Hospital's "Healthy Taiwan Deep Cultivation Plan".

        Dr. Chiu, Dean Kuanming, stated that the establishment of the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) system in 1995 and the launch of the Doctor Car program in 2026 can be considered important milestones in pre hospital medical care. At this stage, it will be promoted on a trial basis as a sustainable and expandable foundation for pre hospital medical services. He also looks forward to further breaking through ground transportation restrictions in the future, allowing the ambulance system to move from flat to three-dimensional, enhancing Taiwan's medical resilience, and saving more lives.

        Doctor Car allows emergency medical personnel to directly reach the scene of the accident

        Section Chief of the Emergency Medicine Department, Fan Jiemin, stated that currently, under regulations, Junior Staff Engineers (EMTs) for emergency medical care are still unable to perform some advanced medical treatments. The role of Doctor Cars is to "fill the gap" at critical moments, allowing physicians to directly enter and enhance the safety and integrity of pre hospital care.

        When a major emergency occurs, the Doctor Car is dispatched by the Fire Department Command Center according to standards, and ambulances and Doctor Cars carrying physicians are on duty synchronously. Mainly used in cases of prehospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), severe distress (U1), special events, or massive injury (MCI). Physicians can assess the condition in real-time on site, make critical medical decisions, and notify hospitals in advance to prepare resources such as critical illness, trauma, or blood transfusions, allowing patients to receive complete and professional care before being sent to the hospital, striving for a golden life-saving moment.

        U1 dual track dispatch included in Doctor Car to rescue severely injured patients

        To enhance the support efficiency of Doctor Car for various emergencies, the "U1 Severe Trauma Trapped Patients - Hospital Dual Track Dispatch Process" has been specially included in the Doctor Car system. When a patient is trapped, their vital signs are unstable, and the estimated time to escape exceeds one hour, doctors can be dispatched to the scene simultaneously to perform key medical actions such as hemostasis, analgesia, blood transfusion, and advanced airway management, in order to fight for survival opportunities for severely injured patients.

        Dr. Zhu Sheng'en, who participated in the execution of Doctor Car, shared that since the trial on January 7, 2026, Doctor Car has attended 8 major cases. On January 15th, a car accident occurred near Changdaokong in Bali, New Taipei City. A 32 year old man surnamed You was driving a ready mixed concrete vehicle on a road section when the vehicle inexplicably slipped off the slope and got trapped. After receiving the report, the police rushed to the scene and used destructive equipment to assist in getting out of the predicament. The doctor then departed with the ambulance, which shortened the process by about 25 minutes compared to the past, and completed the blood transfusion and stabilized the condition at the scene. After subsequent treatment in the hospital, the patient recovered smoothly and was discharged.

        Multi level response system, covering daily to disaster situations

        The Doctor Car response team can not only go to the scene immediately in the event of a general accident; When encountering major disasters, insufficient medical capacity, or cross regional rescue needs, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital can also accept multi-level rescue teams such as Disaster Medical Rescue Team (DMAT) or Surgical Reserve Team (BORP) dispatched by health authorities. In addition, it cooperates with the Supporting Medical Team and the New Taipei City Rescue Team (USAR team) to form a city heavy rescue team to ensure that medical forces are quickly deployed, maintain rescue efficiency and patient safety. Applicable situations include:

        Major disasters or cross regional rescue: Depending on the nature of the event, DMAT can be activated to provide support to disaster areas both domestically and internationally.

        The number of surgeries and severe cases in the disaster area can be affected: BORP will be dispatched simultaneously to maintain the operation of the medical system.

        Building collapse or large-scale search and rescue: Medical personnel can accompany the USAR to provide frontline medical support and ensure the health of search and rescue team members.

        Doctor Car not only provides support for critically ill patients such as OHCA, major injuries, and severe injuries, but also can respond to various high-risk emergencies, ensuring that every patient receives complete and professional medical treatment within the golden life-saving time. Dr. Chiu, Dean Kuanming emphasized that this cooperation model not only improves the quality of emergency care, but also demonstrates the determination of hospitals and fire departments to jointly safeguard the safety of people's lives, and create a truly peaceful and secure living environment.

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