Compliance With Accreditation Standards

The Accreditation Standards address many issues that are designed to pro­vide the highest level of care in the safest manner while moving a patient from a stable hospital environment with many back up resources to in an environment that depends on the skills of a few and the equipment and supplies available in the helicopter, airplane, or ground ambulance.

Everything that occurs or could occur during a transport depends on experience, training, and preparation for the mission.

For specialty teams that may transport on an infrequent basis, it is essential to be prepared and become familiar with the aircraft or ambulance and its idiosyncrasies and capabilities prior to taking off for a mission. If a regularly scheduled team member does not accompany the specialty team, it is even more imperative that the specialty team become familiar with the aircraft or ambulance, medical configuration, communications systems, and emergency procedures. For example, some aircraft may not have an on-board invertor—a power source to support the incubator—or may not have sufficient gases to meet the needs of the ventilator for the entire distance of the transport including ground transport at each end if it is a fixed-wing transport. For long-distance fixed-wing transports (defined as any patient leg in excess of 3 hours—measured in time, not distance because of winds—where there are no alternative capabilities for patient care needs or aviation operations), preparation is imperative to make sure there is suf­ficient oxygen, backup supplies, and redundant oxygen and suction in case the on-board systems fail or the transport takes longer than predicted.

The Accreditation Standards specify education, medical configurations, and safety precautions necessary for transport. Below are listed some of the most frequently cited deficiencies regarding these standards.