Revolutionary rightly says:
"Unfortunately though the health care industry in this country is not driven by medical necessity but by profit so the hospital only thinks about filling a bed and the EMS provider only thinks about billing for a transport; nobody does the cost-benefit analysis and up goes another helicopter, launching into the night to pick up a patient with a broken ankle. And therein lies -I think- the root of this problem."
Excellent!
There are just too many ways for HEMS launch criteria to be circumvented, or abused, by medical amateurs purporting to be professionals. If a medical ground crew want to get off shift at scheduled time, and can't due to an impending transport, guess what, that patient
can suddenly, by a slight change in medical condition verbage, qualify for transport by helicopter (as if no one knows this already) - this straight from the horses mouth! Not amusing.
Perhaps our medical system here in the US should all be not-for-profit!? No doubt the medical side of the equation IS first in driving the bandwagon, and they need to wise up. All this abuse could stop with them. I wonder if they ever thought they could be, as Revolutionary says " ... the root of this problem." .
