TITLE:
Helicopter EMS beyond Trauma: Utilization of Air Transport for Non-Trauma Conditions
AUTHORS:
Stephen H. Thomas, Lori J. Whelan, Emily Williams, Loren Brown
KEYWORDS:
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services; Air Medical Transport; Prehospital Care
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
18,
2013
ABSTRACT: Helicopter Emergency Medical Services
(HEMS) use in civilian medical transport has its roots in the use of rotor-wing trauma transport in
the military setting. Much of the literature and evidence basedon the use of HEMS is therefore related to scene and interfacility transport of
injured patients. Regionalization of care and increased understanding of time-criticality of various non-trauma conditions has contributed to
growing utilization of HEMS for non-trauma conditions over recent decades. It is common for HEMS to be
utilized for a variety of non-trauma situations ranging from neonatal and obstetrics transports to cardiac
and stroke transports. The purpose of this review is to overview the use of
HEMS for non-trauma,
focusing on situations in which there is evidence addressing possible HEMS utility.