ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: High-risk neonates often require significant stabilization and preparation time for transport. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the institution of a formal neonatal transport policy would increase the effective utilization of air medical resources and to determine whether such a policy would be useful to other air medical transport programs. METHODS: A descriptive review of flight data from time periods before and after the institution of the policy, combined with a telephone survey of 20 other rotor-wing transport programs. RESULTS: After implementation of the policy, the total number of neonatal transports decreased (85 in 13 months vs 60 in 17 months) as did the number of two-way transports per month (4.6 vs 1.3). In addition, average mission time for all neonatal transports decreased. Fifteen of 20 transport programs in this Association of Air Medical Resources region perform neonatal transports. Only one of the 15 has a formal policy to determine the use of one-way versus two-way neonatal transports. CONCLUSION: The neonatal team transport policy has increased the effective utilization of air medical resources in this program. This policy could have wider application for other programs as well.
