Study: Most Helo EMS Flights Medically Necessary

A new University of Illinois study found that only 1.4 percent of the 27,697 medevac flights it studied from 2009 were “medically inappropriate.” All of the flights were performed by Air Evac Lifeteam, a helicopter EMS company operating in 14 states. The study, titled “Medical Necessity of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Transport: Results of a National Utilization Review,” was performed by the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria and appears in the March issue of Prehospital Emergency Care.