Medical emergencies wait for no man. They are also largely unpredictable (except in situations like war, where a large number of injuries is a given). In today's fast-paced world, every possible medical service is on the fast track, and this includes medical transport. This has resulted in a number of lives being saved and major disasters being either minimized or completely averted.

At its most basic level, an ambulance represents medical transportation. The sight of this vehicle tearing through the streets with flashing lights, every other kind of transport making deferential way for it, is commonplace. However, the ambulance, no matter how fast it may be, does not serve every purpose of medical transport anymore.

Today, the number of options for transporting patients and medical supplies and equipment from one place to another - even from one point of the globe to another - are staggering. These are not only available in context with medical emergencies. Many kinds of patients - such as those requiring routine treatment like dialysis - need to be transported to and from treatment centers on a routine basis. In-transit medical transport services include paramedical assistance and mobile life support systems.

In its most complete spectrum, medical transport consists of ground, air and sea-based services. The management of a medical transportation service can be a staggeringly complex administrative task, since it involves maintaining a network of manpower, medical experts, medical supplies and transit routes that span cities, states and even countries.

Medical transport, when not emergency-based, also needs to be commercially feasible for the organization and the service-users. It is, after all, an integral part of the 21st century phenomenon known as managed medical care. As a result, the market for it has become quite competitive.