• Patient’s Name
• Social Security Number*
• Date of Birth
• Pick up Address (Apartment Number if applies) or Facility Name
• Where the Patient is going? (Address or Facility Name and Doctor’s Names / Suite Number)
• For what reason?
• What type of Insurance the Patient has?

*Insurance Carriers and Medicare require the Patient’s Social Security Number and Policy Number(s) for identification and to process the claim.

The type of transportation is based on an industry term: “medically necessary” which is further defined below. Our dispatcher will ask:

• Can the patient walk?
• Is the patient in a wheelchair?
• Is the patient bed bound?
• Can the patient maintain a sitting position for an extended period of time?
• Does the patient need assistance to stand or pivot?

If the patient can walk or is in a wheelchair, transportation other than an ambulance should be utilized. If the patient is bed bound, cannot sit for an extended period or needs assistance to transfer, an ambulance is utilized. In all emergencies, an ambulance is utilized.

Sure, IMG Ambulance can transport you to your hospital of choice if you are stable enough for the transport, which is determined by the EMTs who arrive to evaluate you. The information is then relayed to our medical team and the decision to go to a further hospital is then approved or denied by the medical staff.

Any patient going to an emergency room is considered an emergency. Emergency ambulance services are provided after the sudden onset of a medical condition. Acute signs and/or symptoms of sufficient severity must manifest the emergency medical condition such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in one or more of the following:

• Place the patient’s health in serious jeopardy
• Cause serious impairment to bodily functions
• Cause serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part

In these cases, IMG Ambulance would respond immediately, meaning our EMS professionals would begin as quickly as possible taking the steps necessary to respond to the call. Non-emergency transports are often scheduled in advance and may cover a variety of things as long as the patient qualifies for an ambulance including hospital to hospital transfers (to a higher level of care), change of residence, outpatient treatment, doctor’s appointments, etc.

It is your choice; however, 911 can only go to the closest hospital, whereas IMG Ambulance can transport you to your hospital of choice as long as you are stable enough for transport. IMG Ambulance EMS personnel are trained to the equivalent and/or exceeding a 911 ambulance provider.

Basic Life Support

Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances provide transport to patients who do not require extra support or cardiac monitoring. A BLS ambulance is staffed by two Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who have training in basic emergency medical care such as basic airway management, use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) and basic drug administration. Examples of BLS transports include:

• Hospital discharges
• Psychiatric discharges
• Basic Life Support emergencies such as lower extremity fractures
• Interfacility transfers
• Transport to dialysis
• Doctor’s offices

Advanced Life Support

Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances transport patients who need a higher level of care during transport above those services provided by a BLS ambulance. The unit is staffed by two paramedics who have over 1,000 hours of education and training and are qualified to render advanced life support to patients such as advanced airway management, drug administration and cardiac monitoring under the direction of a hospital. ALS can be thought of as providing service equivalent to a local 911 agency/fire department ambulance. Patients who typically require ALS transport include:

• Medical/surgical patients with a continuous IV
• Patients on a cardiac monitor
• Patients with potential airway compromise
• Any patient deemed to have a potential complication during transport when reported by the sending facility
• Life threatening medical emergencies (For example: respiratory distress, stroke, seizure, or chest pains)

Private ambulances are used for emergency transports, non-emergency transports and critical care transfers. Private ambulances can transfer you to your hospital of choice based upon medical stability for transfer whereas 911 can only take you to the closest hospital. In addition, some private ambulances, IMG Ambulance being one, have the capabilities to transfer high risk patients on ventilators & IV drips and manage expanded scope medications that your local 911 ambulance typically cannot.

If you have a medical emergency, please call 911 but you may also contact us for your BLS transportation needs so we can get you to the medical facility without delay. If you are looking to schedule an appointment, IMG Ambulance can do so at any time.

Transport for a patient who has an appointment to be seen for an ongoing medical problem (e.g., wound care, dialysis, radiation) is known as a “medical transfer.” A non-emergency medical transport can also occur when a patient requires transport back to his/her residence at the end of a hospitalization. Medical Necessity for all non-emergency transports is required by Medicare, Medicaid and all insurance carriers.

Sure. While hospital case managers coordinate ambulance transportation, you as the patient can ask your case manager to request transportation from your preferred ambulance service.