Medical Assistants and Wheelchair Transport: Chair Choices

Medical assistants, nurses, and professional caretakers should take not just their patient’s comfort and convenience into account, but their own as well when helping a patient choose a method of wheelchair transport. Chair options for patients who are unable to push themselves in manual wheelchairs or operate the controls on power wheelchairs include transport wheelchairs, which come in multiple forms, and electric wheelchairs which can be controlled by a caretaker.

If a patient is able to move independently using a manual wheelchair, even if they need full-time care, they should generally opt for a manual wheelchair instead of a transport wheelchair as being able to move independently is convenient for both patient and caretaker. If the patient can use a power wheelchair, you can get a control mechanism which is convenient for a patient or caretaker to use. Even so, a transport wheelchair may be more convenient depending on the specific case, and they are much less expensive. If your patient is too heavy for you to easily move in a transport wheelchair, a power wheelchair is necessary to save yourself physical strain.

The basic transport wheelchair is used in hospitals to move patients from one place to another due to their light weight, portability and easy storage, and low price. Recovering patients use these chairs if they are unable to exert themselves to walk or use a manual wheelchair because they are recovering from an injury, illness, or medical procedure.

A lightweight transport wheelchair reduces the total weight you have to push when moving a patient. Transport wheelchairs made of aluminum tubes weigh less than 20 pounds, making it easy to push a patient and easy to lift, carry, and store the wheelchair.

You can transport larger patients in heavy duty transport wheelchairs. These wheelchairs are heavier and pushing a heavier patient is more difficult but power wheelchairs are much more expensive. Heavy duty transport wheelchairs can carry 350-450 pounds.

Wheelchairs with reclining backs help patients who have to be in a wheelchair for extended periods of time to change positions. These transport wheelchairs are heavier, but can make a real difference in the patient’s comfort level and that makes up for the extra weight. Full tilt wheelchairs help patients who need to tilt all the way back due to a cardiovascular condition do so conveniently in their own wheelchairs. They can be tilted all the way back, and the feet of the patient can be raised above chest level.

The professional caretaker who moves patients with their own physical effort needs to be taken into account when deciding on wheelchair transport. Chair options should be discussed to meet the patient’s needs and yours.

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