Why will-calls exist
Many appointments have no reliable end time: a procedure runs long, dialysis starts late, a discharge waits on paperwork. Rather than guess, the B leg is booked as a will-call and activated when the rider is ready.
What makes them hard
A will-call lands in the middle of a day that is already planned. Dispatch has to find a van with the right space type free and close enough, without making the riders already on that run late. Several clinics releasing patients at once can stack up will-calls in the same hour.
Providers usually agree with each payer how soon after the call the pickup must happen, and track that the same way they track pickup windows.
Good habits
- Record the clinic’s number with the trip so staff can call when the rider is ready.
- Text the rider when the will-call is activated, so they know the van is coming.
- Shop the nearest run that can take the trip before assigning it, and look at what it changes for the riders already on board.
Going deeper: Will-call returns: how to dispatch them without missed rides
Related terms
- Trip leg (A leg and B leg)A trip leg is one one-way ride from a pickup to a drop-off.
- Run (route)A run, also called a route, is the ordered list of pickups and drop-offs one van and driver will do in a shift.
- Pickup windowThe pickup window is the span of time around a scheduled pickup that counts as on time, for example 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after.
- Where’s My RideWhere’s My Ride is how a rider or caregiver finds out where the van is and when it will arrive.