
Kicking Ass And Saving Lives – iHELP From Slovenia - dsarle
http://www.arcticstartup.com/2013/11/25/kicking-ass-and-saving-lives-ihelp-from-slovenia
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frankdenbow
This is great. In the US there are efforts to create an enhanced 911 system
[0] (headed up by Henning Schulzrinne of Columbia). Many apps will be built on
this infrastructure and hopefully save more lives.

[0]
[http://www.911dispatch.com/911/nextgen_911.html](http://www.911dispatch.com/911/nextgen_911.html)

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japaget
There is another emergency use app in the Apple App Store here is the USA
that's called iHelp Plus. It has no connection to the app described in the
article, which doesn't seem to be available in the USA.

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deletes
How do you know that, I haven't found any info regarding location restrictions
on their website.

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japaget
The Apple App Store has a search function, and the Slovenian iHelp doesn't
come up in the search. That means either it is not available on your device or
is not available in your country.

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subsystem
There's a similar system in Sweden[0]. It really is a shame that AEDs aren't
smaller and cheaper.

[0] [http://www.vice.com/read/if-your-heart-stops-in-sweden-a-
mem...](http://www.vice.com/read/if-your-heart-stops-in-sweden-a-member-of-
the-public-might-help-you-before-an-ambulance)

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mentos
What would be wrong with a world where this app was pre-installed on every
phone and allowed EMT/Doctors/Firefighters/Police to indicate as such and set
a radius for alerts they would like to see (100ft/500ft/1000ft/etc)?

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JshWright
You'd likely end up with a _really_ low SNR (if the current use and abuse of
the 911 system is anything to go by). It'd be the 'cry wolf' app in no time.

There are other concerns I'd have too... Want to mug someone in a secluded
area? Hit the HelpMe button on your burner phone and wait for them to come to
you.

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mentos
Well if the 911 system is already broken, maybe an app could try to fix it.

I think the problem with calling 911 is that it is free when it should cost
enough money to weed out the noise.

If a call to 911 cost $100, how many people would be calling in about their
tooth-aches/loneliness
([http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/24/news/economy/healthcare_911_...](http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/24/news/economy/healthcare_911_abuse/))?
Increase the dollar amount until the number = 0.

An app that allowed you to purchase credit before you had a crisis (or came
with $100 of credit and you had to top off after an emergency) might help
reduce that noise.

What if the $ went directly to the first responder?

There are ways to solve these problems.

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deletes
Charge the call, if the call is justified give a discount of 100%.

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mortov
Try discussing that with the family of the murder victim Sally Geeson. She
wrongly believed an emergency 999 (911 to North Americans) cost money so she
did not call when she knew her life was in imminent danger as she had no
credit left on her phone:

From
[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/oct/19/guardianwe...](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/oct/19/guardianweeklytechnologysection2)

"...tragic consequences last year when Sally Geeson, a student, was abducted
and murdered in Cambridge. Sally, whose phone had run out of call credit, sent
a series of texts asking for help to friends, apparently not realising that
she could have made a 999 call for free."

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mentos
What about all the lives lost when it takes first responders up to 8 minutes
to respond to a crime because of false positives?

I really believe that this would be a more efficient system on the whole.

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jacalata
You're right, because lives lost due to delays include some rich and therefore
worthy people, so a system that saved them and killed more poor people would
intrinsically be an improvement. typically blinkered comment that doesn't even
admit the possibility of funding the service, employing more responders and
attempting to fix the problems. Perhaps it could be funded with this new thing
I thought up where it takes money from everyone based on their ability to pay,
based on the assumption that everyone is better off in a society that has
reliable emergency services.

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leonatan
I have come here to kick ass and save lives. And I am all out of ass.

