Construction of a well-functioning transport program begins by build­ing a strong foundation with the right personnel, training, equipment, and vehicles (ambulance, helicopter, or fixed-wing aircraft).

Equally important is building a culture of trust. A culture of trust is critical to a successful quality improvement program. Team members must not fear repercussions bring­ing mistakes and errors they identify to the attention of their leadership.

Team members and leadership must begin to realize that errors and issues surrounding substandard quality are rarely the sole result of poor judgment but rather inherent system or process problems that allow these errors to occur despite involving high-caliber personnel. Continually monitoring and evaluating your transport program are critical to providing quality patient care and ensuring the success and longevity of your transport organization. In the following sections of this chapter, we discuss the basics of designing a quality-monitoring system and approaches to improving the quality of the services you provide. This chapter will not make you an expert quality control officer but should provide you with the background and methodol­ogy to begin planning and implementing quality improvement (QI) projects and finding appropriate resources from which to learn more.

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