The purpose of an emergency move is to move a patient out of immediate danger. Danger could come in the form of fire, close proximity of explosives or other hazard, or move the patient out of the way to get to a different patient. An emergency move could be used to quickly move a cardiac arrest patient to an area where working the arrest could be feasible. The basic gist of an emergency is to pull the patient along the long axis of the body in lieu of lateral movements. The idea behind a lateral drag is that dragging a patient along the axis of their spine will straighten the vertebrae and limit any damage of a potential spinal cord injury.

An urgent move is similar to an emergency move in that the goal is to quickly move the patient; however the difference is the urgent move is done in a non hazardous setting (unlike the emergency move) and with utilizes methods to prevent excessive spinal column movement and is done in a way to support airway, breathing, and circulation priorities. Acceptable times to perform such a movement are when the patient displays altered mental status, inadequate breathing or shock, or any situation where the patient must be moved to allow for emergency treatment.