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Patient Care Transportation – Know the Policy

patient care transportation

As a physician or other medical professional, you need to know the patient care transportation policy that is included in your patients’ health insurance. A lot of things can be covered by an insurance policy including, but not limited to: hospital stays, transportation for long-distance or international travel, special care from a specialty care facility, surgical procedures, etc. Often times there are exceptions to the policy and you may be surprised by what exactly your health insurance covers.

Emergency situations – In some cases, the medical professionals may provide the transportation on site but you should be aware that if the situation is an emergency situation you will be required to stay at the hospital until the patient has been discharged. The price of the transportation and lodging for you will be deducted from your salary and you will not receive any reimbursement for the expense.

Critical Illness – Again, in this case, you will receive an additional payment for your time in the hospital for the patient with a critical illness. The payment can either be fixed or variable depending on the type of condition.

Urgent care – Many times you may not have the time to drive yourself to the urgent care and are not always available when the emergency comes up. There are some insurance policies that may allow you to use an alternative mode of transportation such as a taxi or limousine to and from the urgent care center. The price of transportation will be covered by the insurance company.

Doctor Office – Most doctors offices are covered by the insurance policy. Certain limits are put in place to ensure that the doctor’s office is adequately covered. They will usually limit how much they will pay to cover things like mileage, gas mileage, for an ambulance to come to the doctor’s office or for the time spent by the driver traveling back and forth.

Any Other Transportation – Many times you may be able to get paid for driving someone to and from appointments or a specialist visit. Again, the amount that you will be paid will depend on your specialty and you will have to keep a record of the names of the physicians and specialists that you are driving to and from the appointment.

Day Care Facility – This is one of the more interesting areas of patient care transportation that most doctors do not see too often. If you are a physician and have a patient who needs to travel frequently to and from appointments they may be eligible for reimbursement for their transportation.

You should also be aware that there are many exceptions to any policy as to what is not considered an emergency. Things such as a patient with a chronic condition that doesn’t qualify for ER based treatments such as oxygen or other ventilators, things like that.

If you are wondering how you can find out what is covered and what is not then you can call your insurance company and ask them or you can contact several companies and ask them to give you a detailed description of the various types of treatment and any other information that is required to determine if the expenses are covered under the policy. You may find that the details of your coverage are provided in your policy or that you are required to include other options that may not be listed in your insurance policy.

Most insurance policies also offer coverage for any equipment that is required for patient care. Many times this includes video cameras and equipment that have different features and settings that will be covered by the insurance company but in many cases, they are not and you will have to purchase the equipment yourself.

There are also a few different guidelines that need to be followed when applying for reimbursement. This includes documenting the accident for documentation purposes, keeping a daily log for reimbursement purposes, submitting to a database, or getting a program that can be used by all insurance companies for patient care transportation reimbursement purposes. Premier Patient Care Transportation Jacksonville FL is extremely important in the course of medical treatment, so it is very important that you understand what your policy covers and how to submit reimbursement claims correctly. To do this you should consult with your insurance agent.