The medical flight industry is highly competitive with hundreds of organizations offering this emergency service around the world. With insurance companies not always covering the full cost of the medical flights and people being wary of the high price involved, the question that is being contemplated is whether lowering the standards of service within the legal realm a viable option. Among the cost factors are maintenance, fuel, hangars, and staff. While the first three are almost impossible to control, staffing is something that most are looking at. Here are a few things that some medical flight providers around the world are considering according to a recent survey by ITIJ.
Cutting Down Medical Flight Staffing and Training Costs
Of course, the more experienced professionals such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and pilots come at a huge cost. But then, there are low-cost medical flight service providers who lower their standards when it comes to hiring standards. It must be noted in this regard that staffing is among the highest recurring expense for most companies.
Training can be expensive too. In order to maintain accreditations, constant training programs need to be held and medical flight companies must make way for the accreditation agencies to evaluate them. All these activities can push the costs high. Doing away with accreditations can cut the cost to some extent and this is among the reasons why several medical flight service providers veer away from them.
Containing the Cost of Equipment
The medical flight industry is constantly evolving, especially when it comes to technology. Using outdated equipment that is still legally acceptable is a choice that many air ambulance companies are contemplating today.
The question that one must ask in this context is whether this is the right path to take. People are entitled to best care possible at reasonable costs. How this can be achieved is a question that only future will tell.
