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B-15 Medical advice, assistance and repatriation service for ADAC members
B-15
B-16
MEDICAL ADVICE, ASSISTANCE AND REPATRIATION SERVICE FOR ADAC MEMBERS
QUALIFIKATION STA~3ARDS FOR AEROMEDICAL CREW MEMBERS
Dr. Wolfgang Stock, Ltd. Arzt d.Plast. Chirurgie, 8000 Munchen 2
Peter Diirner, ~ d i c a l D e p a r ~ t , Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht, Stuttgart Heinzpeter M~ecke, AK-Altona, Abt. Anaesthesie, Hamburg, West Germany
The ADAC Ambulance Service is an organization which assists the members of the German auto club ADAC with medical problems. Since travel and vacation stays of many German citizens have multiplied during the last few decades, the ADAC Ambulance Service was set up to help members in respect of: Vacation planning under medical aspects; Provision of required medications during their vacation trip; Medical advice and assistance during their vacation trip; Repatriation of patients suffering from illness or injury. Due to the fact that about 90 percent of vacation trips have their destinations in Europe or in countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, the club has set up a network of assistance centres abroad and a medical advice service system with the cooperation of German-speaking doctors. In addition to this, the emergency call centre in Munich is staffed with medical personnel qualified to provide advice and assistance on a 24-hour basis. A fleet of aircraft consisting of turboprop aircraft and ambulance jets (Lear & Hawker) and the necessary medical crews (doctor and medical attendant)are on standby ready to carry out safely and quickly within 1 hour frc~n Munich, patient repatriations which 5,490 patients were transported back to their home towns either by air ambulance (1,533) or scheduled flights (488), or by ground ambulance (1,862), train or private car (1,607).
According to German government regulations, all aeromedical missions are required to have a 2 member medical crew consisting of physician and an assistant. Unfortunately this regulation does not state any specific criteria. Therefore detailed standards have to be developed by the providor. Developing the standards for our organisation we reviewed inflight patient protocolls that led to the following assunptions: I. Standards have to meet the medical needs of intensive care patients. 2. Extensive clinical experience is the Single most impmrtant aspect. 3. Additional specific training is necessary. 4. Medical crew members have to perform aeromedical missions on a regular basis to stay familiar with the specific environment. 5. It is advantageous if physician and assistant are used working together in the clinical setting. 6. Neonatologic and pediatric transports should be acconloanied only by neonatologists. These assunptions led to standards divided into basic and specific requirements. Basic requirements for physicians: Juin 3rd year resident in a specialty related to intensive care medicine; 6 months full-time-assi~t to an intensive care ward;50h course in emergency medicine.Basic requirements for assistants: P@~ with special training in anesthesiology or intensive care or F~fP with a minimum of I year experience on a physician staffed ground ambulance. Specific requirements are basically identical for both groups and cover: flight physiology, application of medical technology in the aeromedical environment, medical-tactical aspects of patient transfer, flight safety training, basic knowledge of flight operations.
AM$ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER1988
53
B-16
MEDICAL ADVICE, ASSISTANCE AND REPATRIATION SERVICE FOR ADAC MEMBERS
QUALIFIKATION STA~3ARDS FOR AEROMEDICAL CREW MEMBERS
Dr. Wolfgang Stock, Ltd. Arzt d.Plast. Chirurgie, 8000 Munchen 2
Peter Diirner, ~ d i c a l D e p a r ~ t , Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht, Stuttgart Heinzpeter M~ecke, AK-Altona, Abt. Anaesthesie, Hamburg, West Germany
The ADAC Ambulance Service is an organization which assists the members of the German auto club ADAC with medical problems. Since travel and vacation stays of many German citizens have multiplied during the last few decades, the ADAC Ambulance Service was set up to help members in respect of: Vacation planning under medical aspects; Provision of required medications during their vacation trip; Medical advice and assistance during their vacation trip; Repatriation of patients suffering from illness or injury. Due to the fact that about 90 percent of vacation trips have their destinations in Europe or in countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, the club has set up a network of assistance centres abroad and a medical advice service system with the cooperation of German-speaking doctors. In addition to this, the emergency call centre in Munich is staffed with medical personnel qualified to provide advice and assistance on a 24-hour basis. A fleet of aircraft consisting of turboprop aircraft and ambulance jets (Lear & Hawker) and the necessary medical crews (doctor and medical attendant)are on standby ready to carry out safely and quickly within 1 hour frc~n Munich, patient repatriations which 5,490 patients were transported back to their home towns either by air ambulance (1,533) or scheduled flights (488), or by ground ambulance (1,862), train or private car (1,607).
According to German government regulations, all aeromedical missions are required to have a 2 member medical crew consisting of physician and an assistant. Unfortunately this regulation does not state any specific criteria. Therefore detailed standards have to be developed by the providor. Developing the standards for our organisation we reviewed inflight patient protocolls that led to the following assunptions: I. Standards have to meet the medical needs of intensive care patients. 2. Extensive clinical experience is the Single most impmrtant aspect. 3. Additional specific training is necessary. 4. Medical crew members have to perform aeromedical missions on a regular basis to stay familiar with the specific environment. 5. It is advantageous if physician and assistant are used working together in the clinical setting. 6. Neonatologic and pediatric transports should be acconloanied only by neonatologists. These assunptions led to standards divided into basic and specific requirements. Basic requirements for physicians: Juin 3rd year resident in a specialty related to intensive care medicine; 6 months full-time-assi~t to an intensive care ward;50h course in emergency medicine.Basic requirements for assistants: P@~ with special training in anesthesiology or intensive care or F~fP with a minimum of I year experience on a physician staffed ground ambulance. Specific requirements are basically identical for both groups and cover: flight physiology, application of medical technology in the aeromedical environment, medical-tactical aspects of patient transfer, flight safety training, basic knowledge of flight operations.
AM$ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER1988
53