What is air medical tranport?
Air medical transport, also called aeromedical transportation, is a term that describes the process of moving a patient by plane or helicopter under the supervision of medical staff. Air medical transport of patients is very common in various settings ranging from public emergency services, military operations, or remote worksites, but also when travelers are repatriated over a long distance.
Medical transport on airplanes is, in fact, a daily occurrence, with thousands of patients flown to destinations around the world every single day.
Local and regional air medical transport systems are generally tasked with picking up patients in small communities or at the scene of an emergency. They use planes or helicopters to quickly shuttle patients needing specialized medical treatment, such as to a university medical center or a children’s hospital.
Later, when treatment can safely be continued in a smaller hospital, the same air medical transport providers are also used to repatriate bedridden patients back to their home community. But these are not the only air medical transport systems around.
International air medical transport explained
International air medical transport providers, like JET COMPANION, deliver services to patients who must be transported over long distances, often from one country to another.
These are, for example, travelers who suffered a medical emergency overseas and are now stable enough to go back home or patients with complicated conditions looking for advanced treatment options that are not available where they live.
Previously, any doctor or nurse would medically escort a patient on a plane on their days off. But not anymore. Today, air medical transport is considered a specialty area in which the expertise of aviation professionals and medical professionals are combined to provide the best possible conditions to transport people with various medical conditions.
For that reason, medical professionals tasked with patient care onboard airplanes are trained in flight physiology, studying how the human body responds to flying at high altitudes.
Air medical professionals are also called flight nurses, doctors, or paramedics, as they can be found traveling on commercial flights among other passengers. At the same time, they are busy providing patient care, as if they were at work in a hospital.
How does air medical transport work when repatriation services are needed?
Receiving the news that a loved one was involved in an accident overseas or suffered a medical emergency is devastating and scary to start with. Many things must happen quickly when the patient is admitted to a hospital, and information becomes available in small bits and pieces.
Eventually, the next step is to organize medical transport to get back home, where the patient is insured for longer-term health care and has a social network to help. That task takes a lot of preparation and can cause additional stress, especially if it needs to be done under time pressure.
That time pressure is felt most if there is no insurance to cover the hospital bills or if the patient needs to pay out-of-pocket for procedures and expenses not covered under the policy. For each day that passes by, the size of the hospital bill increases by hundreds, if not thousands, of Dollars. That has a devastating effect on families.
Suppose the home is far away, and the patient cannot travel independently on a commercial flight. In that case, families should start looking for professional support immediately through their insurance company or by contacting an air medical transport provider directly. It will still take days or weeks before medical repatriation can happen, but making the first call is never too early.
When to start looking for an air medical transport company
Many challenges must be addressed once a decision is made to transport a patient from one country to another. It’s a new experience for most families, and feeling completely overwhelmed is not uncommon. One of the first questions we often get is, where do we even start?’’
We recommend that you start talking to us as soon as it becomes clear that the patient needs to be transported at some point and not wait until the patient is ready to be discharged. Setting up international medical transportation can take some time, especially if the patient needs to lie flat on a stretcher or if different modes of transportation need to be used on parts of the journey.
The process of preparing the journey involves a variety of documents, conference calls, meticulous coordination between different service providers, and a lot of flexibility to adapt to last-minute changes. For most families, it is too much to handle under time pressure, but it gets much easier once an air medical transport company like JET COMPANION gets involved. We are familiar with the process and with different challenges that may arise in other countries.
Experienced companies like JET COMPANION can provide guidance and organize everything needed to transport the patient from “bed to bed.”
What do air medical transport companies mean by “bed-to-bed” services?
It means that we’ll pick up the patient wherever he is. That may be a discharging hospital unit overseas, but not necessarily. If necessary, we also pick up patients in rehab centers, nursing homes, hotel rooms, and even at a residential addresses.
However, suppose the location is far from the airport, or sending our aeromedical crews into a certain area is unsafe. In that case, we ask our local assistance partners to bring the patient to the airport by ambulance or plane. That occasionally happens if we are sent to an area with civil unrest, armed conflicts, or bad road conditions.
After arriving at the destination airport, we also ensure that appropriate transport awaits the patient to a new bed. That can be at a receiving hospital, a long-term care facility, or elsewhere in the community. “Bed-to-bed” means that the patient is picked up wherever he is, left wherever he is going to stay, and that everything in between will be taken care of. Even then, we still care for all the puzzle pieces while transferring the patient.
Can air medical transport be arranged for medical treatment overseas?
Not all air medical transports are due to a medical emergency. Some patients deliberately travel for medical treatment instead of staying close to home. It’s called “medical tourism .”But whenever the term medical tourism is used, people often refer to travelers who pay out of pocket for their medical procedures or diagnostic tests overseas.
The medical centers are private practices, regardless of size, and target international patients. They are located at sunny hotspots attracting leisure and medical travelers. Mexico, for example, or Turkey.
There is also a very different crowd of seriously ill patients who are looking for a second opinion or a highly-specialized treatment that is only available in a few hospitals in the world, for example, in the case of a rare condition or when a specific medical procedure seems promising but is not available where the patient lives.
Regardless of the availability of medical technology, the world’s top specialist doctors also tend to attract patients from all over the world who are searching for the best medicine offers to improve their quality of life.
A group of patients is also looking for specialized rehab programs or holistic retreat centers to work on addiction, an eating disorder, a neurological condition, or a specific mental illness. Asia, for example, is home to some of the most world-renown rehabilitation programs, which we’ll write about in another blog post.
As an international patient, getting accepted by a doctor overseas and securing a first appointment in a hospital is one thing. However, arriving there can be another problem, especially if ongoing medical care is needed on the way to the treatment center.
If it’s already given, professional support will be necessary because the patient is, for example, immobile or in any way hindered, it’s best to involve an air medical transport company like JET COMPANION as early as possible in the process, making safe transportation to the treatment center a solid part of the plan.
Options include medical travel arrangements onboard commercial flights, a private charter, an air ambulance, or on a stretcher by ground or air.
How much does air medical transport cost?
Prices can vary substantially. Different elements determine the cost of air medical transport, like the mode of transportation (air ambulance, airline stretcher, business class or charter), services and care level needed, the routing, and the time of the year. It is a given that patient care, and for that matter, air medical transport, cannot be done cheaply, and there is no such thing as “discounted” air medical transport, the way that people opt to fly with low-cost airlines instead of the mainline carriers.
Generally, the most expensive option is to charter an air ambulance, followed by a stretcher charter or a private jet. Transporting a patient with a commercial airline on a stretcher will save roughly 50 to 70% of the cost of a private plane. But an airline stretcher is optional for every patient. Unless a patient cannot sit up, transport on a commercial flight in a regular business class seat is the least expensive option, saving you another 30 to 50%.
Air medical transport companies like JET COMPANION are highly specialized companies. They must abide by many rules and conditions and have a dedicated system to carry out air medical transports safely. Expect to pay several thousands of Dollars for any variation of air medical transport, and keep in mind that when you hire the services of an air medical transport company, you are not only paying for an extra airline ticket and the salary of a nurse to go on the flight.
Conclusion
Contact us if you are planning for the transport of a bedridden person and want to find out more about your options.