5 Valuable Tips for Air Medical Transfer
Posted on September 19, 2017
Every now and then we hear stories about air ambulance services saving lives by timely transporting patients to medical facilities for receiving specialized medical care. When ground transportation is not deemed adequate for offering a lifeline to patients located in remote or rural areas, patients rely on air medical transfer services. Around 30% of the U.S population relies on air ambulance services for access to specialized medical care within the first 60 minutes of an incident, according to AAMS.
When a patient requires air medical transfer, patients and their families generally rely on hospital case managers and air medical transport providers to guide them through the process. Even though most air medical transfers are simple, others, depending on the condition of the patient, are more complex. In emergencies, patients or their families often don’t understand which air medical transfer company they can trust. Most don’t even know what questions to ask the air ambulance they called or how to simplify the air medical transfer process.
To make things less stressful, here are five valuable tips that will help you streamline the air medical transfer process of your patient:
1. Choose accredited air ambulance services
Accreditation of an air medical provider indicates the efficiency and quality of services the company offers to its customers. Before you decide on hiring an air ambulance, you must ensure they have the right accreditations. A few imperative accreditations which an air medical transfer company must have include CAMTS, FAA and NAACS. When an air medical services company is fully accredited by CAMTS it means that they are in substantial compliance with the Accreditation Standards set forth by these agencies. The CAMTS accreditation is a seal of quality for their air medical transfer services, indicating trust and dependability.
2. Provide details of patient’s medical condition, location and insurance
Because air medical transfer is not something that happens every day, it is imperative for patients or their caretakers to have the knowledge required for arranging an air medical transfer. When you call an air ambulance company, you will be required to coordinate some required information regarding the patient, their location etc. These include:
- ✓ Details of the patient’s current medical condition
- ✓ Name and location of the patient for making travel arrangements
- ✓ Insurance details to determine whether air ambulance coverage is offered
- ✓ Name and location of the sending and receiving medical facilities (if any)
- ✓ Details of the companion or family member who will accompany the patient in-flight (if any)
This information will help the air medical transfer company in organizing the required medical air transport according to the patient’s condition and ensure a comfortable journey.
3. Check for ground transportation and continued patient care requirements
In some medical conditions patients require constant monitoring of health or assistance to walk which is why it is imperative to ensure that the air ambulance services you arrange for provides specialized and continued patient care after the flight. Make sure you pre-notify the air ambulance company if the patient requires any such services. At AirMed, all arrangements made for the patient’s ground transportation are offered with bedside to bedside care and licensed medical escorts who ensure the patient’s safety till their requested destination.
4. Coordinate for insurance approval or air medical membership plans
Securing insurance approval for air ambulance services is a time consuming and complicated process. Air medical companies generally have a team of specialists dedicated for performing this task. However, many insurers only cover the air ambulance services cost to the nearest facility and do not provide coverage outside of U.S. Some might even disagree on the cost determined by the air medical transfer company and that’s when the remainder of the bill falls as the patient’s responsibility.
At AirMed, to ensure that our customers are protected from the financial burden of air ambulance cost, we offer AirMed Membership Plans. These plans offer our members premium access to ultimate air medical transportation services 24/7/365. Users can select from a wide array of exclusive family and individual membership plans which have been tailored for annual, short term, extended stay and student packages. These plans cover various factors and timelines without any additional costs.
5. Designate point of contacts for receiving patient’s updates
Air medical transfers don’t have to be stressful for the patient or their family. Air ambulance companies generally have flight coordinators who manage all ground and air medical transfer logistics as well as communications with the patient’s family, health care professionals and insurance company. To avoid any miscommunication it is always best to designate a point of contact for receiving your patient’s updates and air medical flight status.
AirMed International is an award winning air ambulance provider, delivering on our mission of an uncompromised standard of medical and critical patient care. We are fully accredited by CAMTS and EURAMI, certified by FAA and NAACS and are proud to be part of the United States Department of Defense Air Transport Program. When you choose us as your air medical transfer provider, we ensure that the patients and their families receive unparalleled air ambulance services. Our state-of-the-art jets are at your disposal as our certified medical teams work seamlessly to provide you impeccable services 24/7/365.