The call for medical flight services is usually left to the professionals who evaluate the situation and make a decision. However, the payment for the medical flight services almost always falls on your shoulders, and this can often turn out to be a huge burden.
What if the $10,000 call for medical flight services was totally unwarranted and you would have only incurred a few hundred dollars if you had opted for ground ambulance services? Here, we discuss a few factors that decide whether medical flight services should be pressed into service or not.
Is the Injury Life-Threatening to Warrant Medical Flight Services?
The concern for your loved ones is understandable but unless the patient is in a life-threatening situation and medical flight services can reduce the risk, there is no point calling for one. One must keep in mind that concern and fear are not the reasons to call medical flight services.
Discuss the extent of the injury with the qualified personnel who takes the call and voice your opinion. At the end of it, it is you who will have to make the payment and insurances won’t pay unless the reason for calling medical flight services is valid.
Will Medical Flight Services Actually Save Time?
Air ambulance cannot land just about anywhere. They need adequate landing facilities and if such a facility is too far, it is futile to transport the patient there. You are better off transporting the facility to the appropriate nearest medical center through land transport. Also, there must be a reasonable time difference between the land and air ambulance transport to the destination.
Are the Weather Conditions Congenial for Medical Flight Services?
FAA is already trying its very best to raise the safety standards of medical flight services. Bad weather and poor visibility are risky by themselves. A land ambulance would be a much safer choice in circumstances like these.
There are a lot of technicalities involved with air ambulance services and it is not always the quickest option. So, discuss the mode of transport with the decision-making authority on the scene, although you don’t have the real authority for making the decision when you are dependent on insurance for cost coverage.
