What Does CAMTS Accreditation Mean for Air Medical Transport Services
Posted on July 18, 2017
If there is one thing that indicates the efficiency and service quality of an air medical transport company, it is the CAMTS Accreditation. The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems is the only accreditation agency that offers worldwide safety standards for ground interfacility and air medical transport systems, ensuring the highest possible patient care and safety in the transport environment.
CAMTS is an independent non-profit organization that audits and accredits medical transportation services in the US as well as in other countries around the world. The Commission comprises of representatives from 20 member organizations who represent some component of ground or air medical transport services and have years of expertise as well as experience in all levels of medical transportation.
What is CAMTS Accreditation?
The CAMTS accreditation is considered as one of the most prestigious certification a medical air transport company can achieve. The accreditation is voluntary and granted to programs that demonstrate substantial compliance with the Accreditation Standards set forth for medical transportation services by the Commission to demonstrate their ability to deliver high quality services.
In order to attain the ‘fully accredited’ status by CAMTS, air medical transport service companies must volunteer for and pass a rigorous review of all their services. There are site inspections, reviews of documentation, personal interviews of medical transportation personnel and examinations performed by trained CAMTS surveyors. Even though on a national level accreditation for US air medical transportation is voluntary, some states and government agencies require medical transportation companies to be CAMTS Accredited in order to operate.
Understanding the Value of CAMTS for Air Medical Transport Services
The CAMTS Accreditation Standards were originally developed and published in 1991 after an extensive public commenting process. Revised periodically to reflect the dynamic environment of medical transportation, these Standards were set forth to address the various issues of critical patient care and safety in relation to fixed and rotary wing medical transportation services as well as ground inter-facility services. In order to be accredited by CAMTS, an air medical transport service is required to be in “substantial compliance” with their Accreditation Standards.
Each standard developed by the commission is supported by a measurable criteria and revised with considerable input from all disciplines of medical professionals, serving as an indicator of excellence for state, federal, local government agencies as well as private and general public agencies. Any medical transportation company willing to obtain the CAMTS accreditation must be in substantial compliance with each of the Accreditation Standards set forth to measure their program’s level of quality. According to the CAMTS website, there are
The Unparalleled Benefits of CAMTS Accreditation
Full accreditation from CAMTS is considered as a seal of quality for the air medical transport service. Even though the medical air transport company must incur some cost at the time of accreditation review, they find the CAMTS accreditation to offer them much more honor and appreciation later on. For starters, it indicates that the services of the company meets the highest standards and is an assurance of their level of service quality to patients which automatically gets them the user’s vote of confidence. Of course, apart from the obvious benefit is attaining instant credibility with the users, however, CAMTS accreditation also several others benefits for both the consumers as well as the air ambulance services.
Air medical transport service companies with CAMTS accreditation are not only distinguished by potential utilizers but it also gives them an upper hand with the insurance companies who are likely to lower insurance premiums. On the other hand, local, federal and state government recognizes the air medical transport service company with CAMTS accreditation as dependable and prefer to offer them contracts over other companies without this certification. The ultimate benefit a medical air transport company gets with this certification is the spike in business they receive because potential users are able to easily distinguish their high quality service from the competition.
CAMTS is dedicated to improving the quality and safety of medical transportation services around the world. At AirMed, we firmly adhere to strict accreditation standards to ensure the utmost safety of our patients. Covering every aspect of air medical transportation operation, from bedside-to-bedside transportation to critical in-flight patient care, we leave no leaf unturned. Our air medical transport services are certified by CAMTS, EURAMI, NAACS, FAA and we have been proudly serving the United States Department of Defense. As an award winning air ambulance service provider we continue to ensure that patient care and safety always comes first, continuing to raise the medical air transport standards bar even higher.