Are all helicopter dispatches really necessary? a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Transportation Medicine

Background:

• Pre-hospital emergency care is vital, with Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) representing an advanced component.
• HEMS aims to deliver timely and appropriate medical interventions, but incurs significant healthcare costs.
• Evidence regarding the necessity and impact of HEMS patient transfers is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reasons for and consequences of patient transfers via HEMS.
• To evaluate the utilization and appropriateness of HEMS in a specific hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted.
• A census sampling method included all patients transferred by air ambulance in Qom province during 1400 (March 2021-2022).
• Patient health records were analyzed.

Main Results:

• A substantial proportion of patients (46.8%) were discharged within 6 hours of emergency department arrival.
• The majority of patients (79%) did not require surgical intervention.
• Over 41% of patients were trauma cases with unremarkable imaging findings.

Conclusions:

• Many Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) transfers were not medically essential.
• Improved patient selection criteria for air ambulance transport are recommended to mitigate unnecessary costs.