Patient Transportation Put At Risk By Rising Costs

Health care costs are always on the rise

Health care costs are always on the rise. As unpleasant as this is to the consumer, the providers have to deal with financial problems as well. Trying to maintain all necessary services with reduced funding is a tricky process. Patient transportation is one of those areas where growing expenses can lead to reduced care because no one sees a way out.

On the surface, patient transportation might not seem to be a high cost event. Put the person the wheelchair. Take them to the shower, lab, and exit. Take them back if relevant. Repeat. If it were only that simple, there would be no problem, unfortunately, it isn't.

Every act of patient transportation requires several things. There are the man-hours involved with legal and medical issues that require one or more attendants, rather than allowing the patient to roam the halls at will. This isn't just pushing a chair, it is often loading and unloading of the client, positioning, all which can put strain on the attendant, especially in a standard chair, which quite often requires some lifting of a person who is immobilized to one degree or another. The fact that most chairs are sufficiently low to the ground means that pushing requires stooping. This physical stress adds up.

However, the biggest expense regarding the budgets for institutional chairs tends to be replacement of the entire unit. This is because, due to their very nature as a convenient means of transport for those with mobility issues, they can easily be removed from the premises without authorization or payment.

It has long been a truism that "if you look like you know what you're doing, people will leave you alone." This goes double for a person in a wheelchair, as even security personnel are concerned about being accused of bias if they bar a person in a wheelchair from leaving. The fact that most chairs are designed to be easily folded up and placed in a car contributes to the incidences of theft.

What is required then, is a wheelchair designed for patient transportation, rather than independent patient movement. That is, it can only be moved by the attendant. If it can be easily branded with a traceable serial number and other identifying marks, this is even better. And, if it cannot be folded up and placed in the trunk -- despite being nestable and therefore ideal for storage almost anywhere within the institution - most of the reasons for theft are removed right along with its ease.

Theft reduction alone will lead to tremendous savings on the part of any institution. The average cost per unit drops precipitously when theft is down to nearly zero.

Add in sturdier materials, which increase the life of the unit - an added value when it isn't going to roll out the door on its own - and the cost has gone down again. Once ergonomic aspects are factored in, such as auto-braking, side loading for easier shifting on the part of both patient and attendant, and a steering bar placed more approximately a height that allows a person to push without stooping the cost is reduced again, due to saving wear and tear on the attendant.

So, the ideal chair for patient transportation is theft resistant, long lasting and helps those using it to last longer as well.

by: Amy Lynn Hart

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