Home · What to do · Hospital transfer: how to arrange and move the patient

Hospital transfer: how to arrange and move the patient

A transfer requires two agreements: the current hospital must let the patient go, and the receiving one must confirm a bed. Families initiate it, doctors approve it, and we do the moving. The most common failure is arriving at the new hospital without confirmation and hearing "no beds".

Call now +7 (985) 887-82-52dispatch line, 24/7 (Russian-speaking)

Write to usWhatsApp Telegram MAX

What to do right now

Get confirmation from the receiving side
Call the department or the paid-services desk, state the diagnosis, condition and date. Record who confirmed and when.
Obtain the discharge summary
The treating doctor prepares it with diagnosis, treatment and test results. Without it the receiving doctors start from zero. If the hospital objects to the transfer, you may sign a refusal of further treatment there.
Decide which crew you need
A stable patient — a standard crew with a stretcher. On oxygen, on monitors, after surgery — an ICU ambulance with a doctor. Tell the dispatcher everything.
Choose the time
Morning or daytime: the admissions department is fully staffed and the treating doctors are present.
Hand over documents and belongings
Summary, imaging discs, passport, insurance, current medication, personal items — handed to the receiving doctor against signature.

Call an ambulance if

Transfer from a regional hospital to a Moscow clinic for surgery or investigation
ICU-to-ICU transfer — only by ICU ambulance with a doctor
From a state hospital to a private one for rehabilitation or comfort
From a region to Moscow or home to a region after treatment
Patients on ventilation, oxygen or with drains — a specialised crew is required

What not to do

Do not discharge yourself from intensive care into a private car
Do not arrive at the new hospital without a confirmed bed
Do not leave without the discharge summary and test results
Do not transfer within 24 hours of surgery without the surgeon’s agreement

What the crew does

Review of the summary, selection of crew and equipment
Collection from the ward, transfer to the stretcher, carrying downstairs
Monitoring en route: oxygen, infusions, ventilation if required
Handover to the receiving doctor with documents and a verbal report

This page is for information and does not replace a medical examination. If the condition worsens, call the crew: +7 (985) 887-82-52.

This page in Russian: Russian version.

Questions

The hospital refuses to transfer the patient — what can I do?

A doctor may object on medical grounds but cannot detain a patient. You sign a refusal of further treatment and request discharge; the summary must be issued. For ICU-to-ICU transfers it is better for the doctors to agree directly.

How much does a transfer inside Moscow cost?

Standard crew: call-out 6,000 ₽ plus transport 6,000 ₽ per each started 30 minutes inside the MKAD. ICU ambulance: call-out 15,000 ₽ plus services en route by the price list.

Transfer from a region to Moscow?

Agreement with the Moscow hospital, a summary from the treating doctor, and our crew collects the patient. The intercity rate is 150 or 200 ₽ per kilometre both ways plus the call-out — the calculator gives exact figures.