NEMT dispatcher checklist: before, during, and after each day
A NEMT dispatcher checklist splits the day into four passes. The night before, match every trip to a driver and vehicle, turn back what you cannot cover, and confirm riders. In the first hour, get every van out on time. During the day, handle late drivers, no-shows, will-calls, and discharges. At close-out, make sure every trip has a status, times, and signatures.
On this page
Using the checklist
Print one copy per dispatcher per day, or keep it open beside the board. Tick each box when it is done, and write the reason next to anything left open. The last block hands open items to whoever covers the phones next.
The four passes follow the shape of a NEMT day. The evening before sets the plan. The first hour gets vans out on time. The middle of the day is exceptions: late drivers, no-shows, will-call returns, and discharges. Close-out turns finished trips into billable records. Our NEMT dispatch workflow guide covers booking through billing.
Change the numbers in brackets to your brokers’ rules. The table after the checklist shows the ones several programs use.
The checklist
The evening before
- Every trip for tomorrow has a driver and a vehicle that fit its level of service (wheelchair, stretcher, oxygen, escort seats)
- New broker offers accepted, or returned to the broker [24] hours or more before pickup
- Every broker trip carries its trip or authorization number, and any trip without one is held until the broker confirms it
- Driver licenses, training, and vehicle credentials current for every assignment
- Driver call-outs covered, and a spare driver and spare vehicle named
- Standing order exceptions entered: holidays, hospital admissions, schedule changes from facilities
- Each run checked for realistic travel time between stops, so riders arrive before their appointment
- Shared runs checked against ride-time limits (no rider on board more than [45] minutes past the direct trip time)
- Riders called or texted to confirm pickup time and address
- Rides the rider no longer needs cancelled with the broker or facility
- Wrong addresses or times found during confirmations reported to the broker
- Daily manifests built in run order and sent to drivers
- Weather and road closures checked, with dialysis and other critical trips marked
The first hour
- Every scheduled driver checked in on time
- Every vehicle’s start-of-shift check done, and any van with a lift or ramp problem pulled
- Drivers told about every change made since their manifest went out
- First pickups watched against the window ([15] minutes early to [15] minutes late)
- Any driver running behind: riders and facilities called with a new arrival time
- Broker told about delays on its trips
- Late pickups reassigned when another vehicle can reach the rider sooner
Through the day
- Drivers at a no-show wait at least [15] minutes and call dispatch before leaving
- Dispatch tries the rider’s phone during the wait and notes each attempt
- No-shows reported to the broker the way it requires
- Will-call returns dispatched within [45 to 60] minutes of the call
- Hospital discharges covered within [3] hours of the call
- Waits at pharmacies or clinics kept to the authorized time, or more time approved by the broker
- Broker sign-off obtained before any change to a pickup time, appointment time, address, or vehicle
- Same-day adds accepted only when the day can absorb them
- Driver breaks planned so no run is left uncovered
- Any accident or incident: riders safe first, 911 when needed, then the broker within its deadline
- Any breakdown: riders safe, a replacement vehicle sent, and every affected rider and broker told
- Rider or facility complaints written in the complaint log as they come in
Close-out
- Every trip has a final status: completed, no-show, or canceled (and who canceled)
- Every completed leg has its real pickup time, drop-off time, and any required signature
- Mileage or odometer readings recorded for each leg
- GPS data captured for each trip where the program requires it
- No-shows documented: when the driver arrived, how long they waited, and each call made
- Trips with missing times, signatures, or mileage listed, each with a name assigned to fix it before billing
- Incident and accident reports written and sent
- Open will-calls resolved or handed over by name
- Paper manifests collected, filed with the day’s records, or shredded
- Tomorrow’s board checked once more after today’s changes
- Notes left for the on-call or after-hours dispatcher
Handoff
| Field | Entry | Field | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Dispatcher | ||
| Trips completed | No-shows | ||
| Cancellations | Open will-calls | ||
| Incidents reported | Complaints logged | ||
| Handed over to | Time |
The standards behind each box
The bracketed numbers come from broker and state rules like these. Your contract controls, so check it and write your own numbers in.
| Standard | What programs require |
|---|---|
| Pickup window | Virginia (MTM Health): a quarter hour either side of the scheduled pickup counts as on time. Georgia: straying more than 15 minutes from the promised pickup time is not timely service. |
| Turnbacks | Virginia (MTM Health): return trips no less than 24 hours before pickup. Rhode Island (MTM Health): no later than 24 hours before the appointment. New York (MAS): trips refused inside 48 hours of pickup draw ten times as many complaints. |
| No-show wait | CareOregon: a minimum of 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup, with a call to dispatch before the driver goes. Georgia: 10 minutes from the scheduled time. |
| Will-call returns | Virginia (MTM Health): 45 minutes after the call. Georgia and Wisconsin (MTM Health): one hour. |
| Hospital discharges | Within 3 hours of notice under MTM Health in Virginia. Georgia honors valid urgent requests, including discharges, within 3 hours. |
| Ride time on shared runs | Virginia and Georgia: a shared ride may add at most 45 minutes to the average time of a direct trip. |
| Trip changes | CareOregon providers need the brokerage’s authorization before changing a pickup time, appointment time, address, or vehicle type, and trips not run as authorized go unpaid. |
| Incidents | CareOregon: written notice immediately for an injury, a death, or an abuse allegation against a driver, and for everything else within 24 hours. Rhode Island (MTM Health): a phone call at once for serious events, and written notice of any incident inside 24 hours. New York: the state accident and incident report goes to the broker within 48 hours. |
| Trip records | A Virginia claim to MTM Health needs the trip ID, both the planned and real pickup time, the departure and arrival, and the rider’s signature. New York has required breadcrumb GPS data on every trip from April 3, 2023, unless the health department grants an exemption. |
Printed manifests list names, addresses, and medical destinations, so the close-out step of collecting them matters. HIPAA’s minimum necessary standard means printing only what drivers need and keeping the rest in the office.
Where dispatch days go wrong
- Late turnbacks. A trip handed back the morning of the ride leaves the broker little time to cover it, and MAS ties late refusals to far more complaints.
- Confirmation calls skipped. The no-show you could have canceled the night before costs a driver’s morning.
- Promises made by drivers. A driver who agrees a new pickup time with a rider can turn a paid trip into an unpaid one.
- Will-calls nobody owns. Every open will-call needs a name next to it until the rider is home. Our guide on handling will-call trips covers planning capacity for them.
- Silence when running late. Virginia and Georgia rules both require calling waiting riders about a delay, and a rider who is warned can tell the clinic. Our late driver playbook has the steps.
- Close-out left for tomorrow. Missing times and signatures are harder to recover a day later, and a Virginia claim to MTM Health that is missing any of them gets denied.
Running the day in HealthRide
On the HealthRide dispatch board, you assign a trip by dragging it to a driver, or let Ryder Go plan your whole day in one click. The live map flags vehicles running late, riders get reminder texts ahead of pickup, and drivers do their vehicle check in the app when each shift begins. GPS-recorded miles, times, and signatures are saved on every trip, ready for close-out.
Frequently asked questions
- When should a dispatcher confirm tomorrow's rides with riders?
- The day before. MTM Health tells its Minnesota providers to check the ride and its pickup time with the rider on the previous day, and to cancel in MTM's provider app when the rider won't be going. Its Rhode Island handbook also has providers phone members 24 hours before transport to check the pickup time. The same call catches wrong addresses and times, which MTM asks providers to report quickly so the trip is paid correctly.
- How late can a provider turn back a broker trip?
- Check your broker's rule, and turn trips back as early as you know. MTM Health expects Virginia providers to turn back trips they cannot cover no less than 24 hours before the scheduled pickup. MAS in New York says a trip refused in the final 48 hours before pickup is ten times as likely to produce a complaint.
- What is the no-show wait time for a driver?
- The broker sets it. CareOregon drivers stay a minimum of 15 minutes after the pickup time on the schedule, and they call dispatch before pulling away. Georgia Medicaid tells riders to expect a 10-minute wait that starts at the scheduled pickup time, so a driver who pulls up early waits longer. Dispatch should try the rider's phone during the wait and record the attempts.
- Who needs a call when a driver falls behind schedule?
- Every rider and facility waiting on that driver, each with an updated arrival estimate, and then the broker. MTM Health lists those steps for Virginia providers, and in Georgia the dispatcher or provider must reach riders at their pickup points to explain the delay and, where it fits, arrange a different pickup. Reassign the pickup if another vehicle can get there sooner.
- What records should be complete before the dispatcher leaves?
- Every trip needs a final status and the details your payer checks. MTM Health pays a Virginia claim only when the electronic trip log carries the trip ID, the planned pickup time and the real one, when the rider left and arrived, and the rider's signature, on a trip marked completed. Georgia's vehicle manifests also record the odometer when the rider boards and again when the rider gets out.
