Pickup window

On-time performance is measured against the window, and brokers track it per provider. Late pickups lead to complaints, missed appointments and, in the end, fewer trips. For a dialysis rider a late van can mean a shortened treatment.

In Medi-Cal managed care, if the provider is late or doesn’t arrive, the plan must authorize urgent NEMT so the member doesn’t miss the appointment, which means another provider is sent and the trip is lost.

Trips are usually booked around the appointment time: the pickup is worked back from when the rider must be there. Payers often also limit how long a rider may be on board, so a van can’t collect riders early and drive them around. A good schedule keeps every pickup inside its window and every ride inside its limit at the same time.

Dispatchers watch for legs that are about to miss their window, not ones that already have. Catching a run that is running late while there is still time to move a trip to another van is most of the job on a busy morning.