Emergency transport is necessary for life-threatening situations, while non-emergency transport is for patients who need to be transported without excessive speed. Non-emergency transport can be used for doctor’s appointments, specialists, and nursing homes, but may not be covered by private insurance. Ambulances can also be used for non-emergency transport with an EMT present.
Not many people realize this, but there is a big difference between emergency transport and non-emergency transport. Emergency transportation is required during a medical emergency, such as a heart attack, gunshot wound, stroke, traffic accident, or other serious injury. In these cases, time is of the essence and it is crucial to get the patient to the hospital as quickly as possible. Non-emergency transport occurs when a patient is transported from one place to another without excessive speed and without emergency lights and sirens during transport. In these cases, how quickly the patient arrives is not so important.
Non-emergency transportation involves a variety of different scenarios. For example, if a patient cannot commute or drive himself, you may request non-emergency medical transportation to and from your home and doctor’s office. Many non-emergency medical transports take a patient to their doctor’s appointments every day, provided the office is relatively close to where the patient lives. These transport services will also take patients to specialists, provided the patient has a referral from their doctor. Most non-emergency transportation companies need to schedule their transportation 24 hours in advance.
These types of transportation may be covered by government services, such as Medicaid in the United States. Private insurance often does not cover non-emergency medical transport. If a patient requests non-emergency transport when they can transport themselves to an appointment without assistance, it is likely that an ambulance will not pick them up and the insurance will not pay for the transport.
Another scenario where non-emergency transport may be needed is when a patient living in a nursing home needs to be transported from their home to a hospital. As with transporting the patient from home, this may be so that he or she can attend a doctor’s appointment or for another routine reason. Patients are also often transported from hospitals to rehabilitation facilities via non-emergency medical transport. A patient recovering from injury or illness and requiring ongoing treatment or rehabilitation can be transported this way.
Ambulances often transport patients without lights and sirens when there is no need to rush the patient to the hospital. In such cases, an ambulance may be needed to ensure that the patient moves from place to place safely and with all the necessary medical equipment. When being transported by an ambulance for a non-emergency medical condition, there will usually be an emergency medical technician (EMT) driving the ambulance, while another EMT sits in the front or rear with the patient.
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