Taxis called VSLs (or “vehicles sanitaire leger”) can be brought directly to an urgent treatment area (TAP), transporting up to three passengers at once. A contract has been reached between them and Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie to guarantee access to urgent services; upon establishing medical prescriptions they may even reimbursed by this insurance policy.
After taking a decision to utilize TAP services for their establishment, it must be determined if an enterprise uses products appropriately in their setup, or that patients are being accepted according to medical recomendations. Fuel consumption and VSL costs must also be reduced, which is why other biphale businesses voluntarily participating in experimentation in Grand Est, PACA, Occitanie and New-Aquitaine regions were expected to participate (cf list of enterprises attached).
However, it must be determined at what point overuse of these vehicles may become an access issue or create barriers to providing urgent care services in an effective manner.
Increases to VSL taxi fleet should not erode assistance services provided on any particular territory (cf. Section 3.1). It will instead encourage biphale companies to professionalise and become key partners of sectors concerned with health and reduced mobility access for people living with limited mobility.