Ambulance Services

Ambulance Services

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry transport patients by ground or air and provide emergency or other medical care. Major US companies include Acadian Ambulance Service, American Medical Response (AMR), and Rural/Metro Corporation.

The US ambulance services industry includes about 3,200 companies with combined annual revenue of about $12 billion. High growth is forecast for the industry over the next two years, driven by demographics and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the federal health care reform law that expands medical insurance to more people in the US.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Increases in immigration, birth rates, morbidity rates, and life expectancies, as well as emergency medical events, drive demand for ambulance services. The profitability of individual companies depends on quick and effective response and operational efficiency. Large companies have advantages of scale in contract negotiations, service capabilities, technology, and geographic coverage. Small companies can compete effectively by providing superior service in specific locales. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate about 45 percent of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

The industry's major service is medical transport of patients, which includes pre- and post-hospital medical transportation, emergency (911) and nonemergency ground transports, and air ambulance services. Emergency calls often require medical assistance, while nonemergency services include transportation for medically unstable patients and medical transfers between health care facilities.

Ambulance service companies respond to emergency calls by dispatching vehicles and personnel to attend to patients at their location and en route to a hospital. A...