Is Helicopter Really Faster Than Ambulance? The Padua Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Station Experience

Objective: Helicopter transport plays a fundamental role in modern health systems, and, yet, it is not been the focus of scientific research, especially in Italy. Our objective was to analyze Padua helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) station operations to discover whether this resource has been used correctly and advantageously.

Methods: The study was conducted considering 115 helicopter air ambulance operations minutes in 2018. Additionally, using geographic information systems and estimated ambulance data, a comparison was drawn between air and ground emergency medical services.

Results: Interfacility transports involved mainly adults. There were 65 (56.52%) "acute transports," 49 (42.61%) "back transports," and 1 "hyperspecialized care transport" (0.87%). The average route distance was 44.23 km; the modal class was 25 to 30 km. The average mission time was 1 hour 26 minutes; the modal class was 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. The Pearson correlation coefficient between flying/traveling time and the route length was 0.92 for helicopter and 0.94 for ambulance, and between mission time and route length, it was 0.05 for helicopter and 0.94 for ambulance.

Conclusion: Helicopters are not always the fastest mode of transporting patients, and journey time is variable. Because of the importance of rapid response in emergency situations, we propose not to use helicopters for transports less than 50 km in distance.