Advances
in medicine have resulted in the sick and injured having to spend less time in the hospital
than in the past. This coupled with the increasing cost of in-hospital care
means that patients and their families have 2 reasons to be happy about an
early return home – the patient can continue his recovery in comfortable
familiar surroundings and the burden on the wallet is reduced. However, the
change from being an in-patient to an out-patient presents some problems of its own. One
of the biggest of these is the issue of transporting the patient to the
hospital or clinic for checkups to monitor the pace of recovery and follow up
treatment.
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The Problem of Transport
Traveling
by car for checkups may be all right for those with minor injuries or sickness,
but it can be a major problem for those who are not mobile or unable to get in and
out of a car. The issue is not just one
of discomfort. The act of getting in or out of the vehicle, even with assistance,
could make the problem worse. In addition, if the journey is anything more than
a few minutes, the stress of travel could have an adverse effect on the
patient. Often, the deterioration may become apparent only after the patient returns home, necessitating another stressful
trip to see the doctor. A patient may try to put a brave face on and not show
the pain or discomfort he feels both out of embarrassment and a feeling of
guilt at being a burden on caregivers. This will only exacerbate the problem.
For
this reason, it is essential that only an appropriate means of transport be
used – something that is specifically designed to meet the special needs of the
sick and injured. What springs to mind immediately is an ambulance. However, these
are typically used for emergency situations and trying to arrange for one for routine
medical visits may not only be impossible, but there is also a possibility that
it may be viewed as an attempt to misuse emergency services. The solution lies in the use of Non-Emergency
Medical Transportation (NEMT).
Another
factor to be considered is that the pain and discomfort of travel may result in
psychological problems. The patient may become depressed about his condition or
may develop a fear of traveling that could result in hiding a change in his
condition that he feels could result in
another painful journey to determine what is wrong. In addition, not knowing of
the stress being felt by the patient, caregivers will continue to use normal
transport presuming that the patient is comfortable with it.
What Is NEMT?
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation is exactly what the name
says. It is a service that offers special vehicles for transporting the sick and injured, in non-emergency
situations, in safety and comfort. The vehicles are designed to make it as easy
as possible for the sick, injured and those with mobility issues to travel in
them. The drivers are specially trained in the transport of patients. NEMT is
not just the most comfortable way for those with mobility issues to travel, it
is the safest and most convenient.
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