From the alarm to the invoice   Any private person who experiences medical problems abroad can ask Rega for assistance. Rega’s Operations Centre is staffed around the clock and can be contacted via emergency telephone number +41 333 333 333, fax number +41 44 654 35 90 or e-mail ops@rega.ch.   On duty at the medical and operational services centre are mission coordinators and physicians. After the emergency call from abroad has been received, the Rega physician contacts the local doctor in attendance, as well as the patient or his next-of-kin. Once all the necessary information has been obtained (including from the patient's GP), the Rega doctor decides whether repatriation is necessary. Where appropriate, the patient's insurance company is also informed.   If the patient's medical condition does not allow him to be transported immediately, repatration is delayed until he is fit enough to fly. The Rega physician remains in regular contact with the local doctor until such a decision can be made.   If repatriation is deemed to be necessary and the physicians have defined the appropriate means of transport (air-ambulance, scheduled aircraft or ground ambulance), the Operations Centre starts making arrangements for the transport.   After the mission, the data is entered into the computer and forwarded together with the emergency alarm report to the mission invoicing department. With repatriations from abroad, the costs not covered by the patient’s insurance can easily exceed CHF 100,000. However, Rega patrons are exempt from these costs.     Criteria for making medical decisions   The Rega physicians decide how and when a patient should be transported from a foreign country back to Switzerland. The quality of the local medical care and the expected length of the stay in a foreign hospital are key factors when making such a decision.   The most important criteria on which such a decision is based are:   Risk-free transport, for both the patient and the crew Therapy possibilities and specialist qualifications available at the local hospital Expected length of hospitalisation and/or treatment Local hygienic and climatic conditions Expected post-operative complications Local rehabilitation possibilities Optimal time for repatriation Social reasons (families are separated and can no longer function properly; elderly or disabled people in need of care have to be left behind on their own) Commensurateness in terms of costs and the environment