HealthyRides

Round trips and will-call

How a trip with an outbound and a return ride is booked, bid on and run, and what happens to a return with no set time.

A round trip is one trip with two rides: an outbound and a return. The facility books it once, providers bid on it once, and each ride is then run and graded on its own.

Who is involved

  • A Scheduler books the trip and picks a bid.
  • A Dispatcher bids on the whole trip and later assigns crew.
  • Crew run each ride and punch it separately.

Steps

  1. Scheduler, Schedule Ride. On the trip step, choose Round trip. The Return ride card then asks how the return is picked up: Will-call, with a return date and no time, or Set a pickup time, with a date and a time. See Schedule Ride.
  2. Dispatcher, Available rides. The trip is one entry. A bid covers the trip's open rides together, with an ETA for each. See Placing a bid.
  3. Scheduler, the ride's bids. The Scheduler picks one bid. Both rides become Scheduled with that provider.
  4. Dispatcher, My rides. Each ride appears as its own ride, with its own status, crew and punches. See My rides.
  5. Crew, Crew console. The crew run the outbound and punch it through to Complete, then do the same for the return.
  6. Either role. If the provider later releases one ride, only that ride goes back to the board. The other keeps its carrier. See Release and rebroadcast.

When the return is will-call

A will-call return is booked for a day, with no pickup time, because nobody knows yet when the patient will be ready.

  1. Dispatcher, Available rides. The bid still covers both rides. The return's ETA is optional. See Placing a bid.
  2. Scheduler, Dashboard or ride detail. When the patient is ready, choose Launch return. On the Dashboard it takes one click on the return's row. On ride detail it asks you to confirm. The return's pickup time becomes the moment you launch it. See Dashboard and Ride detail.
  3. The provider is told at once. Its dispatchers and provider admins get a text and a push, and so does the crew member assigned to the return.
  4. Dispatcher, My rides. Choose Re-commit ETA on the launched return and enter the time the crew will reach the nurses desk. Do it within 15 minutes of the launch. A later re-commit is still accepted, but at 15 minutes the provider's dispatchers are alerted that it is overdue. See My rides.
  5. Crew, Crew console. The crew run the return and punch it as usual. It is graded against the re-committed ETA, not the one in the bid.

If a will-call return is not launched by the end of its day, the person who booked it gets a reminder. If it is still not launched 48 hours after that, it is cancelled and they are told.

What each side sees

  • The facility sees one trip with two rides, each with its own status and timeline on ride detail.
  • A trip has no status of its own. Its state is read from its rides.
  • After a release, the two rides of one trip can end up with different carriers. The re-bid happens inside the original trip, and a bid covers only the rides still open.
  • The diagnosis list belongs to the trip. It is shared by both rides, and it stays editable until the last ride completes.
  • A will-call return reads Will-call on the facility's Dashboard until it is launched, and then its launch time. On the provider's My rides its pickup reads Unscheduled until then.
  • On ride detail, the Will-call return card shows whether the return has been launched and, once the provider re-commits, the new ETA.

Common questions

Can I book a return with no set time (will-call)?

Yes. On the trip step, choose Round trip, then Will-call for the return, and give the day it is expected. Launch it when the patient is ready.

What if the return is never launched?

At the end of its day the person who booked it gets a reminder. 48 hours later the return is cancelled and they are told.

Can the two rides have different providers?

Yes, but only after a release. A single bid wins both open rides at the pick.

Is the return graded separately?

Yes. Each ride is graded on its own punches and on the ETA the provider committed for that ride. For a will-call return, that is the ETA re-committed after launch.