How to Book a Transport - Stretcher Vans and Ambulances

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of booking stretcher and ambulance level transports in Roundtrip. Let's get started!

Stretcher vans and ambulance transports are an ideal option for non-ambulatory riders who must lay flat during transport. Ambulance transports can provide medical assessment, monitoring, treatment, or observation during transport while stretcher vans cannot. Roundtrip offers several different levels of ambulance including BLS, ALS, and SCT/CCT to accommodate a wide range of rider needs however your organization will determine which levels are in scope for booking.

To get started, click on “Stretcher” as the vehicle type.

Stretcher and ambulance transports will require some additional information during booking:

For stretcher and ambulance level transports, additional information is required to identify the rider's specific needs and determine the appropriate level of transport. In this section, you’ll see all of the stretcher and ambulance levels your organization has in scope for booking. Expand the vehicle options and select all the statements that are applicable for this transport.

Next, you’ll be prompted to select the appropriate trip reason for the transport. These options are pre-selected by your organization. Choose the most appropriate option from the dropdown menu - you may also type in this field to find a specific option from the list.

In the “Driver instructions” field, you can enter any information necessary to help the driver locate the rider. You may also include any additional information regarding the rider’s needs during the transport.

In the “Additional clinical information” field, you can enter any pertinent clinical notes in this section. If your organization has authorizations in scope with Roundtrip, you may be required to provide additional details in this section based on your organization’s specific workflows.

For stretcher and ambulance level transports, your organization may require a PCS Form to be provided at the time of booking within Roundtrip. A Physician Certification Statement Form, or PCS Form, is a written attestation from a credentialed party signifying that transport by ambulance is medically necessary based on the rider’s condition at the time of transport.

If your organization does require the PCS Form to be provided during booking, you have the option to create an electronic PCS Form or to upload one.

Once all the necessary fields on this page are completed, click “Continue” to advance to the next step in the Book Trip Flow.

Roundtrip allows all payer types to be selected for stretcher and ambulance transports however your organization will determine which specific payment options are enabled. If authorizations are performed by Roundtrip for your organization, Roundtrip will only attempt authorization on the insurance payor chosen in this step, not any secondary insurances.

Choose the most appropriate payer type from the dropdown menu.

If selecting facility paid, simply click on the group name that you will be booking the ride under. If you are booking the ride as patient paid, select “Rider self-pay” from the dropdown menu. You will be prompted to chose whether the rider will pay via a credit card or will be need to arrange payment with the assigned Transportation Partner outside of Roundtrip.

If selecting insurance paid, select the appropriate payor name from the dropdown menu. You may then be prompted to enter additional details regarding the rider’s insurance policy. If your organization’s EHR is integrated with Roundtrip, the policy information may pre-fill in these fields - more on this below.

If booking an insurance paid ride, your experience may differ depending on whether or not your organization’s EHR is integrated with Roundtrip:

Insurance Authorization Details

If your facility handles Insurance Authorizations, instead of Roundtrip, then you can add an Authorization number that was already retrieved in this payment step. You can also edit a non-completed ride once you have the Authorization number.

If booking a patient paid ride using a credit card, you’ll be prompted to enter the rider’s email address - this will be used to send the rider a receipt once the transport is completed and their credit card is charged.

You may then select which credit card to use for payment. If the rider has an existing card on file, you can review the last four of the card number to ensure accuracy and then may proceed with using that credit card without any further action. You can also click “Change” to switch to another saved card or add a new card.

To add a new card, click “Add card” - this option may appear if there’s no card currently on file or if you clicked “Change” to update the existing card.

A new window will appear for you to enter the new card details. Enter the cardholder name, credit card number, expiration date, and CVC code. Once all fields are completed, click “Save Card” to continue.

Upon booking, a hold will be placed on the card based on the ride estimate (see more on this below). Once the transport is completed, the hold will be replaced with a charge on the provided credit card for the actual ride cost.

After entering the payer type details, you might also see a field labeled “Facility Programs”. Your organization may utilize programs to tag transports and track specific cost center payments.

To quickly find the program you are looking for, type in this field to locate the specific program by name.

At the bottom of this page, you can view the estimated fare range for the trip. If booking a patient paid ride, the median amount of this range will be placed as a hold on the credit card that was previously entered (i.e if the range is $50.00-$58.00, $54.00 will be placed as a hold on the card).

If all payment information looks accurate, click “Continue” to advance to the final step.

On the final step, you’ll be prompted to confirm the notification settings for the transport. For stretcher and ambulance level transports, rider notifications will be turned off by default.

If you’d like to re-enable notifications for the rider, check the box next to “Rider”. Then, select your Rider's preferred notification method in the "Rider" section. The notification method, phone number, and language will automatically fill in according to the settings in the Rider's Profile.

At this point, you can opt to modify the notification method, update the Rider’s phone number for notifications, or disable the notifications entirely.

Next, you can select your preferred notification method under the "Myself and/or staff" section. By default, notifications are enabled and will be sent as an email to the address linked to your Roundtrip account.

At this point, you can opt to modify the notification method, update your contact phone number/email address for notifications, or disable your notifications entirely. You can also choose to add additional notification methods or contacts by clicking the “+ Add Notification” button. This option allows you to opt in to multiple notification types or to include other key staff members to receive notifications for a particular ride.

If your organization is integrated with Roundtrip for TigerConnect, you can also add users/roles by clicking “+ Search TigerConnect” and selecting the appropriate recipients.

Once your notifications are configured, it’s time to review the transport details for accuracy. This page will include a map, pinpointing the pickup and drop-off locations for the transport. Beneath the map, click “Expand All” to review the different categories of details previously entered in the Book Trip Flow. The right side of the page will show the vehicle type and any other pertinent details regarding the rider’s needs.

At the bottom of the page, you can review the requested pick-up time, pickup and drop-off locations, estimated duration, and estimated mileage.

If all the information is correct, complete your trip request by clicking the ‘Book Trip’ button at the bottom or top of the page. You’ll receive a banner in-app confirming that your ride was successfully booked.