Be a smart medical consumer.

Be well-informed before purchasing a medical helicopter membership by asking these additional questions:

• Is the company offering the medical helicopter membership accredited? Accreditation means that the company meets or exceeds air medical national standards in safety, maintenance, and patient care, as well as other important areas. Review the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems Internet site at www.camts.org to see if the membership company is accredited.
   

• What is the training and skill level of the medical and aviation crew? Is the helicopter licensed at the basic or advanced life support level, or are they licensed at the "critical care" level? Is the nurse a Registered Nurse, or does the program require their nurses to be Certified Flight Nurses? Do their paramedics also have a state critical care endorsement, and does the program require Certified Flight Paramedics? Does the program have an accessible dispatch center that can help if things go wrong during the flight? Does the program employ experienced pilots, with at least 1,500 flight hours? Are the aircraft mechanics experienced?
   

• Is the company part of an established regional medical system? It's one thing being licensed as an air ambulance by your state, but actually being a part of established regional cardiac, stroke, burn, neonatal, pediatric, and trauma systems helps ensure a coordinated and continuous approach to patient care, plus gives the medical staff valuable educational resources to improve and maintain their skills.
   

• Does the company offer specialty transport? Specialty transport includes such categories as high-risk maternal or neonatal transport. It can also include special equipment, such as patient ventilators and the Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump. If your membership program doesn't offer a wide variety of specialty transport capabilities, your physician may require that a non-membership helicopter be used for your transport, and your membership most likely will not cover that.

Medical helicopter programs can vary widely in medical equipment and the quality of both the flight training program as well as in the skill level required of the staff.

Just like some medical facilities are better prepared to manage your emergency than others, so are medical helicopter programs. If your local hospital cannot manage your medical emergency, where is your local helicopter program getting their training and experience? Making informed decisions about your health care, including critical care helicopter transport, will improve your chances of a good outcome in the event of a critical illness or injury.