Civilian air ambulance services in Oregon

To describe and evaluate the status of air ambulance service in Oregon, questionnaires were mailed to Oregon's 18 air ambulance operators; 16 operators responded with data on aircraft type and configuration, medical supplies and equipment aboard the aircraft, and training of inflight attendants. Records of 128 of the 152 patients transported by these services during September, 1985, were reviewed to estimate the extent to which patients had been appropriately selected. Findings were: trauma patients being transported to large specialized medical centers comprised the single largest patient category; failure to obtain an aeromedical assessment of every patient preflight resulted in some inappropriate transports, with airlift definitely contraindicated in at least 2% of the cases; most agencies met advanced life support standards for equipment; inflight documentation was inadequate; numerous aircraft lacked pressurization and adequate doorway size; many attendants received insufficient aeromedical training; and existing state regulations went unenforced. Measures to guide services and to remedy existing deficiencies are recommended.