Don’t transfer a patient by ambulance with skilled personnel if the patient is unlikely to require medical intervention en route.

Health personnel are valuable resources in rural communities. Sending a nurse or physician en route to an urban centre can leave a rural hospital without medical support for significant periods of time. Consider the evidence when deciding whether a patient needs to be accompanied during transport. Consider calling the receiving hospital to mutually agree on the need for skilled personnel during urgent or emergent transport.

 

For more information:

Brayman C, Hobbs B, Hill W et al. ICU Without Walls — Interprofessional High Acuity Response Teams (HARTs) improve access to higher level of care in rural and remote communities. CJRT. 2012 Nov;48(4):14-19.

Kornelsen, J., McCartney, K., Newton, L., Butt, E., & Sax, M. Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice. Rural Patient Transport and Transfer: Findings from a Realist Review. [Internet]. (2016). Applied Policy Research Unit, Centre for Rural Health Research.