| Unwarranted use or over-triage to helicopter transport from a trauma scene by EMS personnel has recently been substantiated in the trauma literature. The purpose of this study was to compare the criteria for air medical activation that are used for trauma patient transport in the 22 trauma service areas in the State of Texas. The criteria collected from the 15 service areas that responded showed marked variation in length, content, and specificity. This variation implies that EMS personnel do not have consistent and comprehensive criteria across service areas in the State of Texas to help guide their decision to activate air medical transport. I recommend, for the prevention of potential over-triage and loss of resources, that EMS personnel should be provided a set of cohesive and consistent criteria addressing anatomical, physiological, mechanistic, and logistical considerations for air medical transportation. |
