What is the criteria for an airlift to Albany Med for treatment?
The exact criteria endorsed by Albany Med FLIGHT can be found on our website under the sections regarding “Scene Response” and “Interfacility Transport”. The criteria is based on recommendations by nationally recognized medical organizations including, the Association of Airmedical Services as well as the American College of Surgeons. Albany Med FLIGHT strongly encourages that providers consider actual physiologic signs of illness in deciding whether or not to call versus only mechanism of injury issues. With advances in safety devices, many high mechanism accidents do not necessarily cause severe injury. While these same patients might need transport to a Level I trauma center, they may not need transport by air. Appropriate utilization of our services will ensure the longevity of our program and ensure that insurance companies and managed care organizations will appropriately reimburse for our services. Albany Med FLIGHT has a retrospective over-utilization rate varying between 3-7%,
