After making the decision for air transport, there are a few things that are important to make the process efficient. The following are recommendations that will be helpful to us:

The EMTALA requirements are very strict for emergency transport. As the primary provider, the responsibility lies with you to have an accepting physician for the patient under your care. We will not question what you have determined appropriate for your patient. We understand that you have done everything in your power to make arrangements for your patient's care at the nearest appropriate facility.

Note: We do everything possible to help each patient with their insurance billing. Overflying an appropriate facility due to one chosen by a sending physician is a reality of this business. There are many unforeseen circumstances (i.e. 1st available bed, 1st accepting, patient choice, etc.). Please understand that when our crews ask specific questions concerning this, we are doing it so that we can help the patient with any possible insurance issues by documenting pertinent information. Insurance companies look at your location as the center of a circle. When looking at closest appropriate facilities, they will expand that circle outwards. Some examples are provided below.

 

• Page Hospital
• Kane Co. Hospital
• Tuba City Hospital
• Kayenta Clinic
• Hopi Health Clinic
• St. John's Medical Center

 

We will not deviate from the destination chosen, unless there is a change in the patients condition that warrants diversion. You will be informed of our diversion if it is required. Please fill out and sign the EMTALA Transfer Record. Please provide a copy of the transfer record for us and the receiving facility. If able, it is very helpful to have 2 copies of the patients medical record, one for the flight crew and one for the receiving facility. Our ground time is occasionally delayed for radiology copies. If it is possible to expedite this process our efficiency is greatly improved.

There is some very important information that should be provided when you call. Our dispatchers will be requesting the following:

1. Location: (if not working from an established facility, GPS coordinates are very helpful):

2. Receiving Facility Name:

3. Unit and Bed Number:

4. Sending Physician:

5. Receiving Physician:

6. Age and Gender:

7. Patient Weight:

8. Brief Patient Description (HPI), Mechanism Of Injury, And Reason For Transport:

9. General Condition: (intubated or not and medications being infused)

10. Small Clinics with limited resources are often considered scene calls for us. If you are the provider in one of these clinics EMTALA does not require you to have an accepting physician. Do not wait to dispatch our services. It is helpful to have an accepting physician, but not at the expense of time. Find out if your clinic is considered a scene call.

For scene calls, our dispatchers will be requesting the following information:

1. The name of the requesting agency.

2. GPS coordinates if available. If not available, a thoughtful description of the area with landmarks and your location relative to such.

3. Units en route or on the scene.

4. Ground contact, cell phone/satellite phone numbers, or radios to aid in location.

5. The name or identifier of the contact person. This person will aide us in creating our landing zone (please refer to the link - "Landing Zones and Safety Precautions"). Important information that will need to be passed on to our pilot includes:

   • wind direction

   • obstructions (i.e. wires)

6. Mechanism of injury, and a short description of the injuries.

7. Unless you are in harms way it is better to stay where you are and wait for us. It takes longer and becomes more difficult to find a moving target.

Ride alongs are never guaranteed at the time of request.

• Rotors: Our transport configuration in our helicopters does not allow for ride alongs. Family should understand that only the patient will be transported.

• Fixed wing operations may or may not allow for a ride along but would have to be discussed directly with the flight crew on a case by case basis. Our crews must consider many factors prior to agreeing to a ride along (i.e. patient condition, total gross weight, etc.).

Feel free to contact us for follow-up. A covered entity may disclose Protected Health Information to another covered entity for health care operations activities of the entity that receives the information if each entity either has or had a relationship with the patient (Air Medical Physician Association Handbook, 2001). Contact us for any other questions you may have.

Thank you for using our services. We are confident that you will be pleased with our expertise and professionalism. We take great pride in our work and care deeply for the individuals that need our help. We hope that you will call on us again.