System and methods for providing transportation services in health care facilities

A system for providing transportation services in a health care facility, comprising:

• a communication network;
• a transportation services management system configurable to store and retrieve information relating to dispatches of transportation services jobs at one or more health care facilities;
• one or more dispatcher devices, wherein each of at least one of the one or more dispatcher devices is configurable to:
• exchange with the transportation services management system, over the communication network, information relating to the transportation services jobs;
• and
• display information to a transportation dispatch manager;
• and
• two or more transport responder mobile devices, wherein each of at least one of the two or more transport responder mobile devices is configurable to:
• exchange with the transportation services management system, over the communication network, relating to the transportation services jobs;
• and
• display information to a transport responder,
• wherein the transportation services management system is configured to:
• send, to two or more candidate responders, via a plurality of the transport responder mobile devices, over the communication network, a notification about a transportation service job that needs to be performed;
• display, on at least two of the transport responder mobile devices, the notification;
• receive, by way of at least one of the transport responder mobile devices, a self-assignment to the transportation services job by at least one of the candidate responders;
• receive, by way of at least one other of the transport responder mobile devices, a response from each of at least one other of the candidate transport responders relating to the transportation services job;
• assign, by way of at least one of the transport responder mobile devices, based at least in part on the responses received from the at least one other transport responder mobile devices and pre-determined criteria for the number of responders for the transportation services job including a maximum cut-off, one or more additional candidate transport responders to perform the transportation services job;
• and
• notify, by way of at least one of the transport responder mobile devices, at least one other of the candidate responders that the transportation services job has been assigned to a different responder.