Air Ambulance Service

Air ambulances serve the same function as ground ambulances, in that they provide emergency transportation of critically injured or ill patients, and care for the patient while en route. Air ambulances are used to access patients where it would be impossible or difficult to reach the patient with a ground vehicle, where there is no road access, in cases where it is safer to approach from above, and in remote areas. Many urban hospitals have medevac (medical evacuation) aircraft that they use to get to the victims of car crashes in order to bypass heavy traffic conditions and get the patient to the medical facility as quickly as possible. Medevac aircraft are also used extensively in the military to transport wounded troops.

The first air ambulances were used by the United States military during the Korean War to quickly transport wounded soldiers to field hospitals for treatment. In many cases, once the soldiers were in stable condition, these same aircraft would then transport them to a larger hospital ship for continued treatment. Australia is home to the first civilian air ambulance service, which provided transportation for critically injured or ill patients in remote locations. Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service is still in operation today, reaching patients who live in areas that are far from emergency trauma care. In the late 1960s, American transportation authorities began to test whether the use of air ambulances would provide faster emergency transport than ground ambulances. They found that in many cases, air transport was quicker, and consequently provided a greater chance of survival for the severely injured patient. Air ambulances are currently used in many urban and rural settings in the United States.

There are many different models for the provision of air ambulance services. In some cases, private organizations provide medevac for a fee for service in a given geographic area. The service may fly to specific health care facilities only, or transport on a non-emergency basis to a hospital of the client's choosing. Elective transportation, such as a patient who requests a return to a hospital closer to his home, is usually not covered by insurance. In remote areas, medevac services are often funded and run by the government. Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service is an example of such a service. Individual hospitals that are the major provider of trauma care for a large geographic region often employ their own private air ambulances. There are also several charitable air ambulance services that assist patients in getting to hospitals offering specialty care or medical facilities that are closer to loved ones or home, at substantially less cost, or in some cases for no fee at all.

The majority of air ambulance services are designed only for transporting critically ill and injured patients to the nearest appropriate medical facility. While some insurance companies offer a degree of coverage for such transport, when it is deemed absolutely medically necessary, many policies do not cover air ambulance service at all. Medicaid does not cover medevac, regardless of the reason for the trip, but Medicare will consider coverage based on medical necessity. For travelers who are out of the country when they are injured, air ambulance service back to the United States can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars. There are overseas travel insurance policies that are designed specifically to cover these costs in case of an emergency.

The inside of an air ambulance is quite similar to what you may see in a ground ambulance, but adapted for the smaller working area of a helicopter. The crew has access to a wide variety of equipment for handling any type of emergency situation. Typically, this includes a defibrillator, burn kit, splints and backboards, a pediatric kit, suctioning unit and other standard supplies. While not all procedures can be performed in flight, it is the job of the crew to stabilize the patient. Where necessary, the crew may choose to perform resuscitation procedures before takeoff, and continue care throughout the flight. The crew of a medevac aircraft vary from provider to provider, but generally include at least one flight nurse, one paramedic and, in some cases, a doctor. Flight crew are extensively trained in critical and trauma care, resuscitation techniques and flight physiology. Flight nurses can choose to apply for a CFRN (Certified Flight Nurse) certificate after advanced training in medevac care.