Operational Statistics for Rotary Wing Aero Medical Transportation in the United States (2020)

Abstract

Aero medical transportation (AMT) services provide transportation of patients, medical teams, and organs for the U.S. healthcare system. Categories of AMT operations include scene response (33%), interfacility transfers (54%), delivering specialty care and organs (13%), and repatriation from outside the United States (statistics not recorded). Scene response is conducted primarily using rotary wing aircraft that can land and takeoff from accident scenes and hospital heliports. Data from 12 publicly available databases were combined to identify AMT vehicles and to generate operational statistics including the number of vehicles, ownership, flight distances, flight frequency, geographic distribution, and the types of airports, air traffic control, and navigation systems used. This information can be used for aircraft design, airport and air traffic control infrastructure assessment and funding allocation, industry sector analysis, and strategic planning.