Helicopters: extending the prehospital transportation system

Early efforts to upgrade the prehospital care system were directed toward improved communications, training, education, and ground transport. Increased sophistication within these components of the integrated emergency medical services system prompted the need for categorizing and formally designating trauma centers. With the designation of comprehensive trauma centers to serve not only local areas but macroregional trauma needs, the requirements for faster transport in a medically controlled environment to cover greater distances became evident. Thus, the helicopter has emerged as the appropriate prehospital transport vehicle to fulfill such needs. What remains is the stimulus and mechanism to fully integrate all of these components into a medically controlled, cost-effective, regionally coordinated system.