Patient transport glossary
30 terms — types of transport, costs, quality, equipment and reasons for travel
Terms explained
Clear before you book
Stretcher or seated? What does health insurance pay, and what is a cost approval? Here we explain the most important terms relating to patient transport and medical transport in Switzerland — in plain language, with everyday examples and answers to the most frequent questions.
10 terms
Types of transport
Which types of transport exist and how they differ.
Emergency medical serviceThe emergency medical service cares for people in medical emergencies and takes them to hospital under medical supervision.Learn more →Inter-facility transferAn inter-facility transfer is the transport of a patient from one medical facility to another — for example from an acute hospital to a specialist clinic, to rehabilitation or to a care home.Learn more →Medical repatriationMedical repatriation — also called return transport — brings a person who has fallen ill or had an accident abroad or far from home back home or to a hospital near where they live.Learn more →Medical transportMedical transport is the transport of an ill or injured person in a specially equipped vehicle when their condition does not allow an ordinary journey, but no emergency care is needed.Learn more →Patient transportPatient transport is the accompanied transport of a person who is ill, injured or has limited mobility but is medically stable — to the doctor, to hospital, to rehabilitation or home.Learn more →Seated transportSeated transport is a form of patient transport for people who can sit during the journey but need support getting in and out and on the way.Learn more →Stair chairA stair chair is a light, padded chair with straps and carrying handles that is used to carry patients safely up and down stairs.Learn more →Stretcher transportStretcher transport is a form of patient transport in which the person travels lying on a stretcher instead of in a seat.Learn more →Transport serviceA transport service takes people who cannot or should not drive themselves to appointments and back home — often older people or people with disabilities.Learn more →Wheelchair transportWheelchair transport is a form of patient transport in which the person stays seated in their own wheelchair.Learn more →
7 terms
Costs and insurance
Who pays for what — health insurer, supplementary insurance, supplementary benefits.
Cost approvalA cost approval (Kostengutsprache) is the written commitment of an insurer or authority to cover certain costs — before the service is provided.Learn more →Deductible and co-paymentThe deductible (franchise) and co-payment (Selbstbehalt) are the cost-sharing that insured persons in Switzerland pay themselves towards basic insurance benefits.Learn more →KBB — transport for people with reduced mobility in both Basel cantonsThe KBB (Koordinationsstelle Fahrten beider Basel) is the coordination office of the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft for journeys by people with reduced mobility.Learn more →Medical prescription for transportA medical prescription for transport is a written confirmation from a doctor that a patient transport is medically necessary and that any other means of travel would not be reasonable.Learn more →Supplementary benefits (EL)Supplementary benefits (EL) are means-tested benefits linked to the AHV (old-age and survivors’ insurance) and IV (disability insurance) for people whose pension and income do not cover their living costs.Learn more →Supplementary insuranceSupplementary insurance is voluntary health insurance that covers benefits beyond basic insurance.Learn more →Transport costs and health insuranceFor medically necessary patient transport, basic health insurance in Switzerland covers 50 per cent of the costs, up to a maximum of CHF 500 per calendar year.Learn more →
3 terms
Quality and staff
Who drives and accompanies you — and how to recognise quality.
IVR recognitionThe Swiss Interassociation for Rescue Services (IVR, in French IAS) is the umbrella organisation of the Swiss rescue services.Learn more →Patient transport paramedicPatient transport paramedics (Transportsanitäter/innen) are rescue service professionals with a Swiss federal diploma.Learn more →Transport assistantTransport assistants accompany medically stable patients during transport: they help them get in and out, secure the wheelchair and patient in the vehicle, drive and look after them on the way.Learn more →
5 terms
Equipment
What is on board a patient transport vehicle.
Defibrillator (AED)A defibrillator is a device that delivers a targeted electric shock in certain life-threatening heart rhythm disorders, above all ventricular fibrillation, so that the heart can return to an orderly rhythm.Learn more →Electric wheelchair in transportAn electric wheelchair is a wheelchair with an electric motor and battery, controlled by joystick.Learn more →Lift and rampA lift and a ramp are the two ways a wheelchair gets into the vehicle without the person having to transfer.Learn more →Patient stretcher (wheeled stretcher)A patient stretcher, also called a wheeled stretcher, is a mobile bed on which patients are transported lying down.Learn more →Wheelchair restraint system (four-point system)A wheelchair restraint system holds the wheelchair firmly to the vehicle floor during the journey.Learn more →
5 terms
Occasions and assistance
What a transport is needed for and who helps along the way.
Accompanying personAn accompanying person is a relative, a friend or another trusted person who rides along during patient transport.Learn more →DialysisDialysis is a blood purification procedure that takes over the work of the kidneys when they no longer function adequately.Learn more →Hospital discharge (discharge management)Hospital discharge is the release from hospital after treatment.Learn more →Rehabilitation (rehab)Rehabilitation, or rehab for short, is targeted treatment after an illness, operation or injury that helps you regain lost abilities and manage everyday life independently again.Learn more →Spitex (home care)Spitex — short for “spitalexterne Hilfe und Pflege”, i.e.Learn more →
Index
All terms from A to Z
S
Place an order
Book transport — online, straight to our dispatch team
Client, patient, appointment — one form that goes directly to our dispatch team. Prefer to call? That works too.
Verified, not just claimed
The first IVR-recognised patient transport service in north-western Switzerland
Recognition by the Swiss Interassociation for Rescue Services (IVR/IAS) is not a self-assessment but the result of an external audit of vehicles, equipment, training and procedures. Mobimed was the first patient transport provider in north-western Switzerland to receive it — and still holds it today.
Check the certificate in the IVR registerRecognised by health insurersOur journeys are recognised by Swiss health insurers as medical transport.
Trusted by hospitalsKantonsspital Baselland Liestal · Bruderholzspital · Spital Laufen · Stiftung Alters- & Pflegeheime Binningen
Here for you 365 days a yearMon – Fri 06:00–22:00, Sat – Sun and public holidays 08:00–22:00.
A companion travels free of chargeWith every type of transport — no surcharge, no discussion.