Patient Transport From Remote Locations

Routine medical TDY/TAD costs for transportation, lodging, per diem, etc. are covered under the Joint Federal Travel Regulations. Each service has implemented medical TDY/TAD processing overseas in a separate manner. For guidance on how your service processes medical TDY/TAD, contact the service representatives at the numbers listed below:

• Army: European Regional Medical Command +49 6221 17 3123
• Air Force: United State Air Force Europe +0049-6371-47-8040
• Navy: Unit funded. Defense Attache Navy personnel may contact DAO Quality of Life Branch at +1-703-907-0483. You may also contact the TRICARE Area Office Eurasia-Africa for more details.
• Marine Security Guard: Funded by State Department TDY process

Theater Patient Movement Requirements Center

The TPMRC Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, assists patients who require transfer to military hospitals or clinics. The TPMRC is a one-stop shop for integrating patient movement requirements. Their primary mission is to coordinate and communicate patient movement requirements to service components. The service components, in turn, execute the patient movement missions within EUCOM and CENTCOM. The TPMRC provides clinical validation, medical regulating (matching patients to beds), and coordination of patient movement requirements by the most appropriate and efficient means of transportation.

You should submit requests for routine medical or dental appointments to the TPMRC at least 30 days before a requested appointment. The TPMRC will advise of the appointment details within five working days of the receipt of the request.

How TPMRC Works

Medical personnel at your location will determine if local medical care is available and acceptable. Once it’s determined that you need aeromedical evacuation, the attending physician will need to coordinate this request with TPMRC. The attending physician will also need to obtain and coordinate an accepting physician at your destination. If you’re sent to Germany, the phone number for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Emergency Department is DSN 486-8160/8414 or commercial +49 (0) 6371-86-8160/8414.

The TPMRC is co-located with the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and has staff on duty and on call 24 hours a day. Considering the time-critical nature of many requests for medical transport, we recommend contacting the TPMRC by telephone. Once the TPMRC receives an aeromedical evacuation request, an on-call Flight Surgeon will assess your evacuation request and assign one of the following categories of patient movement:

• Urgent (to save life, limb or eyesight): Evacuate as soon as possible.
• Priority: Evacuate within 24 hours.
• Routine: within 72 hours or an acceptable period agreed by attending physician and Flight Surgeon; individual may be moved by commercial means.

There are two important things to keep in mind when requesting TPMRC support:

• The TPMRC doesn’t control or fund travel for medical and dental care. You must coordinate your travel and funding through your service.
• Ensure you and your family members consider your schedules carefully before requesting appointments. It’s extremely difficult to change appointment dates and times once they’ve been made.

For urgent, priority and routine patient movement, contact the TPMRC by phone, fax, or email:

• Phone:
  • DSN: 480-8040/2253/2264
  • Civilian: 0049-6371-47-8040/2253/2264 
• Fax: (DSN) 480-8045/2345
• Email: tpmrceurope@ramstein.af.mil
  • Don’t use email for urgent or priority requests
  • Msg. Address: TPMRC EUROPE RAMSTEIN AB GE

Emergency Medical Evacuation Services:

• If you need an emergency evacuation, contact International SOS as soon as possible.
• International SOS will first contact the Theater Patient Movement Requirement Center (TPMRC/EUCOM) or the Joint Theater Patient Movement Requirement Center (JPMRC/CENTCOM) to check for U.S. military aircraft availability.
• TPMRC/JPMRC will either accept the mission or decline based on aircraft availability.
• If TPMRC/JPMRC declines the mission, International SOS will be contracted to provide the emergency evacuation service.