• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.42-47
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• 2014

Objective : Helicopter ambulance transport (HAT) is a highly resource-intensive facility that is a well-established part of the trauma transport system in many developed countries. Here, we review the benefit of HAT for neurosurgical patients in Korea. Methods : This retrospective study followed neurotrauma patients who were transferred by HAT to a single emergency trauma center over a period of 2 years. The clinical benefits of HAT were measured according to the necessity of emergency surgical intervention and the differences in the time taken to transport patients by ground ambulance transport (GAT) and HAT. Results : Ninety-nine patients were transferred to a single university hospital using HAT, of whom 32 were taken to the neurosurgery department. Of these 32 patients, 10 (31.3%) needed neurosurgical intervention, 14 (43.8%) needed non-neurosurgical intervention, 3 (9.4%) required both, and 11 (34.4%) did not require any intervention. The transfer time was faster using HAT than the estimated time needed for GAT, although for a relatively close distance (<50 km) without ground obstacles (mountain or sea) HAT did not improve transfer time. The cost comparison showed that HAT was more expensive than GAT (3,292,000 vs. 84,000 KRW, p<0.001). Conclusion : In this Korean-based study, we found that HAT has a clinical benefit for neurotrauma cases involving a transfer from a distant site or an isolated area. A more precise triage for using HAT should be considered to prevent overuse of this expensive transport method.

• 한국항공운항학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.99-109
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• 2014

Airline and medical industry in Korea have rapidly grown since 21st century. However, air ambulance service using an aircraft has not as popular as in Japan, Europe or United States. Central government has decided to start emergency helicopter service since 2011 to transport emergency patients transported in the past by fire fighter helicopter. Unfortunately, 32 OECD countries out of 33 have operated emergency aircraft system except Korea. There are more than 25 emergency helicopters in Japan, which can operate within five minutes. Such system could save a lot of social direct or in-direct cost by saving valuable lives of Japan citizens. This paper has tried to research the perception of overseas Russian medical tourists on using Air ambulance for their medical tourism to Korea. Researching air ambulance, this paper expects to find ways to enhance both medical tourism industry and airline, business jet industry. According to research results, it was proven that tangibility of medical tourism service has a positive effect on the human factor of air ambulance. The human factor has also a significant impact on the passenger comfortableness of air ambulance. Such comfortableness increases the overall satisfaction of medical tourism.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.159-163
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• 2006

Purpose: The number of patients transported by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) has increased recently. In our review of the Korean HEMS, there was no established helicopter utilization criteria or triage tool on the scene, so many patients with minor injuries were transported to tertiary care centers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the percentage of patients with minor injuries and to propose a more appropriate triage tool for predicting the need for transport to a tertiary care center. Methods: The subjects of this study were 59 trauma patients transported to Asan Medical Center (AMC) from the scene by Seoul HEMS from January 2004 to December 2005. The Triage score (TS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and modified Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (mCTAS) were calculated as severity scales. Patients with minor injuries were defined as those with TS=9, ISS${\leq}15$, and mCTAS${\geq}3$. We evaluated the association of TS, ISS, and mCTAS with the appropriateness of transport. Results: Many of the patients transported to tertiary medical centers were classified as having a minor injury: TS=9 group 35 cases (72.9%), ISS${\leq}15$ group 30 cases (62.5%) and mCTAS${\geq}3$ group 27 cases (56.2%). However, 56.2% (27/59) of the patients were appropriately transported according to need for admission or an operation. The more severely injured patients classified by TS, ISS, and mCTAS were more appropriately transported to a tertiary center (p<0.05). Conclusion: Many patients with minor injuries were transported to a tertiary center from the scene directly. The TS can be easily calculated by an emergency medical technician at the scene. Thus, we propose the TS as a useful triage tool for determining the necessity of transport to a tertiary center by helicopter.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.230-240
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• 2012

Purpose: We aimed to compare the transport time, the proportion of direct hospital visit and the emergency procedures between the current mountain rescue helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) and physician-staffed mountain-rescue HEMS. Methods: During weekends from October 2, to November 21, 2010, 9 emergency physicians participated as HEMS staff in the mountain-rescue HEMS program of the Seoul fire department. Patient demographic data, transport time, proportion of direct hospital visits, and emergency procedures were recorded. We also collected data on HEMS mountain-rescued patients from June 1, to September 1, 2010, and we compared them to those for the study patients. After an eight-week trial of the HEMS, we performed a delphi survey to determine the attitude of the physician staff, as well as the feasibility of using a physician staff. Results: Twenty-four(24) patients were rescued from mountains by physician-staffed HEMS during the study period, and 35 patients were rescued during the pre-study period. Patient demographic findings were not statistically different between the two groups, but the transport time and the emergency procedures were. During the study period, the time from call to take-off was $6.1{\pm}4.1min$ (vs. $12.1{\pm}8.9min$ during the pre-study period, p-value=0.001), and the time from call to arrival at the scene was $15.0{\pm}4.8min$ (vs. $22.3{\pm}8.1min$ during the pre-study period, p-value=0.0001). The proportions of direct hospital visit were not different between the two groups, but more aggressive emergency procedures were implemented in the study group. The delphi survey showed positive agreement on indications for HEMS, rapidity of transport and overall satisfaction. Conclusion: A pilot trial of physician-staffed HEMS for mountain rescue showed rapid response and more aggressive performance of emergency procedures with high satisfaction among the attending physicians.