Patient transportation is a necessity in any hospital or other institution.  The clients have to be moved from one locale to another for everything from tests to surgeries to emergencies to discharge.

Unfortunately, due to the deficiencies in most extant wheelchairs, this process can wind up taking up far more time than it should, leading to irate staff, patients, families, etc., as well as raising costs through extra man-hours, not to mention equipment failure and theft.

The wheelchair itself is an incredible invention that has allowed for mobility and levels of independence for people who are physically incapacitated to some degree or another.  As well as those who provide care and companionship to those who would never have had.

There was a time when para and quadriplegics were confined to beds, and maybe couches or porches if there was someone who could transport them that far.  The wheelchair has enabled them to rejoin a world they never should have been removed from.  At the same time, it’s been a boon to the medical and other people moving services at the same time.  Wheelchairs revolutionized patient transportation.

Unfortunately, along with all these benefits has come a mindset that if something works for one area, it should work for all.  This has led to few changes in the chairs themselves.

Wheelchairs have gone forward in a straight line, moving from wood to metal in construction and incorporating better materials as well as controls that can be operated by the most mobility-impaired among us.  However, no later movement has allowed for increased efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness in the areas where independent living was not the primary concern.

When a person with mobility issues is in a hospital, a chair geared for patient transportation will make far more sense than what would be used to facilitate independent moving.  Even someone with more general health issues, this makes hiking down miles of corridors to the X-ray room MRI inadvisable.

There are numerous reasons for this, including the health and safety of both patient and staff.  For example, a chair that can only be moved by the attendant, rather than the patient will avoid someone who should not be moving on her own from incurring injury thus costing her, her insurance, and the hospital both time and money.

A further advantage of wheelchairs built solely for institutional use is that they can be designed to take up less space.  Why does this matter?  If the wheelchairs take up less room, they can be placed in one centralized location without impacting day-to-day operations.

They will also allow for better and more rapid movement through halls and rooms.  This is vital in emergent situations as well as reducing the amount of time a patient needs to spend being transported from bed to exam room and back again.

One of the biggest advantages in chairs designed specifically with patient transport in mind is in cost effectiveness.  While the beginning cost may be higher, chairs that can be nested against one another saves time and space. 
They work like shopping carts in that they are easily secured.  However, they are not easily stolen unlike shopping carts.  They will pay for themselves in short order, by not having to be replaced because they have wandered out the door under their “own” steam.