Which option best describes ALS Expanded Scope and Critical Care Transport?

• A. Emergency motor-vehicle maintenance
• B. Inter-hospital transfer solely for stable patients
• C. Prehospital or inter-hospital transport of a critically ill or injured patient including medically necessary supplies and services
• D. Ambulance dispatch protocols only

Answer: (C)

ALS Expanded Scope and Critical Care Transport centers on moving patients who are critically ill or injured, whether from the scene to a hospital or between facilities, with the medically necessary supplies and services provided during the transport. This reflects both prehospital and inter-facility transfers and the expectation that life-saving care continues en route with appropriate equipment, medications, and trained personnel. The other options don’t fit because one focuses on vehicle upkeep rather than patient care; another limits transfers to stable patients and ignores critical cases and inter-facility moves; and the last concerns dispatch procedures instead of the actual transport and in-transit care.