This blog is looking for wisdom, to have and to share. It is also looking for other rare character traits like good humor, courage, and honor. It is not an easy road, because all of us fall short. But God is love, forgiveness and grace. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins have the promise of His Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the Way.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Flight for Life
It ain't perfect, but our healthcare system must surely be the best in the world. Please don't turn it over to government bureaucrats.
Helicopter EMS is an industry that is screaming for regulation, and the FAA preempts the states from doing anything about it.
Increases in Medicare and insurance reimbursement increased dramatically for medical helicopters ten years or so ago, and the all-out hunt for profits since then has resulted in relaxed flight safety standards, too many helicopters in urban areas that don't need them, and none at all in the rural areas that need them most, because there's no money to be made out there.
Being a flight medic is now the most dangerous job in America, even more so than being a logger, miner, or Alaskan king crab fisherman.
If you work a 44 hour week on a helicopter, averaging 3 flights per shift (a fairly low operational tempo), and you stay in the business for more than 10 years, your chances of being in a helicopter crash are roughly forty percent.
Top that off with the fact that flights cost well over $10k each, and over 50% of the patients flown are discharged home directly from the hospital. 75% of their patients leave the hospital within 24 hours.
That's right - over half their patients weren't sick enough to even be admitted to the hospital, and only 25% were sick enough to stay beyond 24 hour observation.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the helicopter is usually slower in delivering the patient to the ER than a ground ambulance, due to a number of factors. The only place helicopters pose a significant time advantage is in wilderness areas where a major hospital is over an hour away by ground.
I was a flight medic for a brief period of time. It's a necessary part of EMS.
It's also highly mis-utilized and abused, and needs more stringent regulation in the worst way.
A.D., It's great to hear from you. I tell medical people about you quite often.
I am sure your facts are correct. There are many problems associated with capitalism. There are, in my opinion, much more serious problems associated with socialism. Having greedy capitalists compete to see who can provide the best service, still seems to me to be preferable to socialist bureaucrats running the system. As a matter of fact, I recall reading several of your posts which vividly described the results of bureaucratic power grabbers doing their best to muck things up.
All I have to do is look at the post office and Medicare and Medicaid and KNOW I don't want the government involved. Course the package passed; how will we ever get out of this one????
3 comments:
In this one case, I'll disagree with you, Bob.
Helicopter EMS is an industry that is screaming for regulation, and the FAA preempts the states from doing anything about it.
Increases in Medicare and insurance reimbursement increased dramatically for medical helicopters ten years or so ago, and the all-out hunt for profits since then has resulted in relaxed flight safety standards, too many helicopters in urban areas that don't need them, and none at all in the rural areas that need them most, because there's no money to be made out there.
Being a flight medic is now the most dangerous job in America, even more so than being a logger, miner, or Alaskan king crab fisherman.
If you work a 44 hour week on a helicopter, averaging 3 flights per shift (a fairly low operational tempo), and you stay in the business for more than 10 years, your chances of being in a helicopter crash are roughly forty percent.
Top that off with the fact that flights cost well over $10k each, and over 50% of the patients flown are discharged home directly from the hospital. 75% of their patients leave the hospital within 24 hours.
That's right - over half their patients weren't sick enough to even be admitted to the hospital, and only 25% were sick enough to stay beyond 24 hour observation.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the helicopter is usually slower in delivering the patient to the ER than a ground ambulance, due to a number of factors. The only place helicopters pose a significant time advantage is in wilderness areas where a major hospital is over an hour away by ground.
I was a flight medic for a brief period of time. It's a necessary part of EMS.
It's also highly mis-utilized and abused, and needs more stringent regulation in the worst way.
A.D.,
It's great to hear from you. I tell medical people about you quite often.
I am sure your facts are correct. There are many problems associated with capitalism. There are, in my opinion, much more serious problems associated with socialism. Having greedy capitalists compete to see who can provide the best service, still seems to me to be preferable to socialist bureaucrats running the system. As a matter of fact, I recall reading several of your posts which vividly described the results of bureaucratic power grabbers doing their best to muck things up.
All I have to do is look at the post office and Medicare and Medicaid and KNOW I don't want the government involved. Course the package passed; how will we ever get out of this one????
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