ArticleActa anaesthesiologica Scandinavica2016
Helicopter-based emergency medical services for a sparsely populated region: A study of 42,500 dispatches.
Article in Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evaluating performance and potential clinical benefit of the Swedish On Scene Injury Severity Prediction (OSISP) model for prehospital field triage on Norwegian trauma data.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Barriers to Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Operations in Nepal: A Retrospective Study of Mission Cancellations.Cureus · 2026Article
- Impact of helicopter emergency medical services base operating regime (24 h vs. 07:00-20:00) on mission volume and structure in Poland: a cross-sectional-longitudinal analysis with duty-time standardization (10 March-10 August 2025).BMC health services research · 2026Article
- The impact of concurrency conflicts on optimal location of air ambulance bases in Norway.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Helicopter emergency medical services in Eastern Iran: a 4-year cross-sectional study of time intervals and mission profiles.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Mortality rates in Norwegian HEMS-a retrospective analysis from Central Norway.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Characteristics of the most severely ill and injured patients in a Norwegian helicopter emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort study.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Locating helicopter ambulance bases in Iceland: efficient and fair solutions.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Observational
- Helicopter Ambulance Transport to the Emergency Department: Demographic and Clinical Factors Impacting Outcomes in a Turkish Medical Center.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Article
- Nine golden codes: improving the accuracy of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) dispatch-a retrospective, multi-organisational study in the East of England.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2023Observational
- Differences in characteristics between patients ≥ 65 and < 65 years of age with orthopaedic injuries after severe trauma.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2022Article
- The introduction of a regional Norwegian HEMS coordinator: an assessment of the effects on response times, geographical service areas and severity scores.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Dispatch accuracy of physician-staffed emergency medical services in trauma care in south-east Norway: a retrospective observational study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2021Observational
- Helicopter emergency medical services missions to islands and the mainland during a 3-year period in Denmark: a population-based study on patient and sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity, and use of healthcare services.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2021Article
- General practitioners not available - out-of-hospital emergency patients handled by anaesthesiologist in a large Norwegian municipality.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2021Article
- Characteristics of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) dispatch cancellations during a six-year period in a Dutch HEMS region.BMC emergency medicine · 2021Article
- Introducing fairness in Norwegian air ambulance base location planning.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2021Article
- Helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) activity after increased distance to out-of-hours services: an observational study from Norway.BMC emergency medicine · 2020Observational
- Article
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3 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Norway is operated day and night, despite challenging geography and weather. In Western Norway, three ambulance helicopters, with a rapid response car as an alternative, cover close to 1 million inhabitants in an area of 45,000 km(2) . Our objective was to assess patterns of emergency medical problems and treatments in HEMS in a geographically large, but sparsely populated region.
methodsData from all HEMS dispatches during 2004-2013 were assessed retrospectively. Information was analyzed with respect to patient treatment and characteristics, in addition to variations in services use during the day, week, and seasons.
resultsA total of 42,456 dispatches were analyzed. One third of the patients encountered were severely ill or injured, and two thirds of these received advanced treatment. Median activation time and on-scene time in primary helicopter missions were 5 and 11 min, respectively. Most patients (95%) were reached within 45 min by helicopter or rapid response car. Patterns of use did not change. More than one third of all dispatches were declined or aborted, mostly due to no longer medical indication, bad weather conditions, or competing missions.
conclusionOne third of the patients encountered were severely ill or injured, and more than two thirds of these received advanced treatment. HEMS use did not change over the 10-year period, however HEMS use peaked during daytime, weekends, and the summer. More than one third of all dispatches were declined or aborted.
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