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Frequently Asked Questions:

General Questions

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General Questions

My mother must use an ambulance to get to her appointment at the hospital, but it's not an emergency. What should I do?

Why does a Fire Truck come to my house when I call for an Ambulance?

What am I supposed to do when an ambulance approaches with its lights on? I pulled into the median, but they went into on-coming traffic anyway.

Why does it cost so much just to ride up to the hospital?

Who do I need to contact to get an ambulance to stand by at our function?

Who do I need to contact to get someone to talk to our group?

I think I'd like to work in EMS. What do I need to do?

 

My mother must use an ambulance to get to her appointment at the hospital, but it's not an emergency. What should I do?


Lexington County EMS only handles emergency transports. Non-emergency transports are handled by private convalescent services. These services provide EMT's or Paramedics as necessary for all routine, non-emergency transports. Some also have special wheelchair services for those people that may need those services. You can find these in the yellow pages of your local phone book.

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Why does a Fire Truck come to my house when I call for an Ambulance?

EMS Units are stationed throughout Lexington County. Whenever a unit responds to a 911 call, it cannot respond to other calls within that area. The Emergency Medical Dispatcher will respond the next closest available unit. Since this unit may be many miles farther away from your location, a fire department vehicle will sometimes be dispatched as a "First Responder". These Fire Department personnel are trained to handle the emergency until the EMS unit arrives. This reduces the time before emergency help may arrive.

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What am I supposed to do when an ambulance approaches with its lights on. I pulled into the median, but they went into on-coming traffic anyway.

SC Code of Laws Section 56-5-2360(a) of the 1976 Code is amended to read: 
Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle making use of an audible signal meeting the requirements of Section 56-5-4970 and visual signals meeting the requirements of Section 56-5-4700, or of a police vehicle properly and lawfully making use of an audible signal or visual signal only, the driver of every other vehicle traveling along a two-lane roadway shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible, to the right hand edge or curb of the roadway clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in such that position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a police officer. A driver of a vehicle traveling along a multilane roadway shall yield the right-of-way and shall remain in, or move to a location that allows the emergency vehicle or police vehicle to pass safely, except as otherwise directed by a police officer." 

As you can see, the law requires that you pull to the right. Since you should be pulling to the right, it is much safer for the ambulance to pass you on the left. 

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Why does it cost so much just to ride up to the hospital?

Lexington County Council has established ambulance fees to offset some of the costs to users of the system. 

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Who do I need to contact to get an ambulance to stand by at our function?

Lexington County EMS does not routinely provide dedicated coverage to events within the county. If your function requires ambulance coverage continuously, you may contact one of the local private convalescent services. 

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Who do I need to contact to get someone to talk to our group?

Personnel are sometimes available to talk with groups and provide Show and Tell demonstrations. To determine if personnel are available to talk with your group, contact Lexington County EMS at 785-5057 or email Tanee Thomas-Tedford

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I think I'd like to work with EMS. What do I need to do?

All EMS personnel must start by receiving EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training. Once completing the EMT Course, you must successfully complete written and practical skills testing as required by DHEC EMS Division. EMT courses are taught by all of the Technical Colleges in SC. You may register for EMT training by

contacting the Continuing Education department of Midland's Technical College for training in this area.

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EMS Billing Questions

Who do I contact with questions about my ambulance bill?

Where should I mail my payment?

What address should I mail a Medical Records requests?

I was transported by the ambulance, what information do you need to file with my insurance carrier?

What Should I do with the check I received from my insurance provider? 

 

Who do I contact with questions about my ambulance bill?

If you have a question or concern about the transport or the care you received, need a copy of your patient record or believe you have been billed incorrectly, contact Sara Oliveira at (803) 785-8340 or email your question to Sara Oliveira

 

If you need additional information about the status of your bill or need to provide additional insurance information to process your payment, please contact our third-party billing company.  For dates of service prior to July 1, 2024, please contact Lowcountry Billing at (803) 957-7111. For dates of service from July 1, 2024 to present, please contact Digitech Computer, LLC at (833) 496-6050.  If the third-party billing company is unable to answer your question or resolve the matter to your satisfaction, contact Sarah Oliveira at (803) 785-8340.

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Where should I mail my payment?

For dates of service prior to July 1, 2024: 

Lowcountry Billing Service
PO Box 84278
Lexington, SC  29073

For dates of service of July 1, 2024 to present:

Lexington County EMS
Billing Department
PO Box 604295
Charlotte, NC 28260-4295 

 

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What address should I mail a Medical Records request?

Requests from attorneys for Medical Records either by Subpoena or Medical Release forms signed by the patient and/or personal representative should be mailed to Lexington County EMS, Attention:  Billing Department, 407 Ball Park Road, Lexington, SC 29072.  Payments should be made payable to Lexington County EMS.  Payments should be included with the request or an invoice can be sent to you, due within 30 days of receipt.

Request from an attorney for a patient's bill should be sent tot he appropriate third party billing company.  For dates of service prior to July 1, 2020, the request should be mailed to Lowcountry Billing Services, PO Box 84278, Lexington, SC 29073.  For dates of service of July 1, 2024 to the present, billing records are available via ChartSwap.  The provider name is Lexington County EMS.

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I was transported by the ambulance, what information do you need to file with my insurance carrier?

 Please provide as much insurance information to the ambulance crew as possible at the time of transport, including the name of your insurance carrier, the policy number, identification number, group number, and the name of policy holder. If you have more than one insurance carrier, we need information for all carriers, as well as which is primary, secondary, etc. We encourage you to contact the third-party billing company for your date of service with any additional information that would help us expedite processing of your payment.  For dates of services prior to July 1, 2024, please contact Lowcountry Billing Service at (803) 957-7111.  For dates of service from July 1, 2024 to the present, please contact Digitech Computer, LLC at (803) 496-6050

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What should I do with the check I received from my insurance provider?

Lexington County does not participate in any networking with insurance carriers; therefore the payment for services rendered by Lexington County EMS may come to you. Should this occur, you are then responsible for forwarding the payment to Lexington County EMS. The most common way to do this is to either deposit the check into your checking account and make a check out to Lexington County EMS, or endorse the check you received to Lexington County EMS. Please be sure to include the patient’s name, and SS# on the check, so that we can assure the payment is applied correctly. 

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