[Quality revision of air ambulance services]

The 14 anaesthesiologist-manned ambulance helicopters in Norway are administratively placed under the head of the nearest anaesthetic department. Routines for quality assurance vary considerably. In 1995, a total of 6,850 patients were treated by air ambulance anaesthesiologists. An enquiry to all 14 air ambulance services revealed that approximately two thirds of all medical records were reviewed for quality assurance purposes. Only half of the reviewers based their work on written treatment procedures in addition to their own sense of good clinical practice. A review of all 162 medical records for one year at one air ambulance base indicates that a thorough review of one third of all records would identify all major areas of improvement. The selection of records has to be based on local experience concerning both patients and personnel. When areas of improvement are identified, the quality assurance process can be simplified without increasing the risk of not addressing serious problems.