Air Ambulance – Low-Cost Options?

When talk of an air ambulance crops up, most minds would usually race to the white or red emergency vehicles that dot the road. But do you know that there are also ambulances in the sky?

An air ambulance is a fast and safe medium for critical patient excavation or a transfer of a non-emergency patient. Nonetheless, it is designed to transfer patients from one medical facility to another and is usually needed when a ground ambulance cannot reach a patient or get there quickly enough.

Most air ambulance companies are privately owned and operated, and hence the price for their services would usually depend on a number of factors such as location and type of aircraft used. As much as some air ambulance companies charge exorbitant prices, some others are quite affordable.

Air ambulances are often needed when patients in dire medical conditions cannot afford to travel long distances by road, where there is a need for an urgent medical transfer to another medical facility, and in some cases, where the patient prefers the swiftness and comfort of the sky to the long travel by road.

For patients who must travel via an air ambulance, there are low-cost air ambulance options. Of course, there are more expensive options like jet service and helicopters – fast and normally the most sought-after option for emergencies – but there are also cheaper options like smaller-sized aircraft and the lower-priced turboprops.

Whichever aircraft type you choose, all are equally medically equipped and certified safe for the patient. Perhaps, the least expensive means is using a medical escort service on a commercial plane.

A medical airline escort is a cost-effective and low-priced means of transporting stable patients who can sit during take-off and landing and have low or no oxygen requirements.

If the patient is stable enough to sit during take-off and landing, a medical escort service will suffice as a great alternative. Here, the patient is usually transported through first-class or business class on a major commercial airline. Also, the patient is kept under care by medical professionals from the ambulance service company.

There is also an airline stretcher and wheelchair for patients who might need them. Provisions are commonly made for stretchers at the rear of the plane. Medical escort crews tasked with the responsibility of providing medical treatments to emergency patients are typically armed with CPR equipment and monitoring units while they deliver basic medication services.

Asides from administering drugs and medications to the patients, air ambulance services also offer advice to the patient free of charge. They advise on medical cover requirements and insurance among many other things.

Having developed working relationships with major airlines, medical escort services can provide medical assistance to corporations, government entities, hospitals, humanitarian aid agencies, and private families.

One of the many other services rendered by air ambulance companies through their medical escort service is medical repatriation.

On the other hand, a private air ambulance charter via any aircraft type would usually render all the services above but at a far higher cost. However, they are commonly used for more delicate and critical situations or in cases where the patient is happy and able to cover the cost.

Whichever option is tenable, most air ambulance services will present you with a list of packages for their services. So, it’s wise to check with your local air ambulance service beforehand. Usually, patients without a life-threatening medical condition will often be less than a patient in dire need of medical aid support.