There are times when you need medical care in a hurry. The hospital emergency room (ER) is available for this purpose and there are modes of transportation to get patients to the ER quickly when they cannot drive themselves or cannot make it by private car. When my father experienced his terminal illness, an air ambulance flew him 200 miles to pick him up and 200 miles back to a hospital in a larger town. An ambulance met his plane at the airport and took him to the hospital.
Sometimes you need care that cannot wait for a hospital. When I was in Costa Rica I was amazed that the city of San Jose dispatched emergency medical technicians on motorcycles. Traffic is bad in San Jose and a motorcycle can weave in and out of traffic easier than a van. A motorcycle EMT obviously cannot transport a patient, but a technician can stabilize a patient while waiting for a medically equipped van.
Kaiser Health News reports medical response drones are now being tested in some locations.
What if the first responder on the scene of a cardiac arrest were a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator?When every second counts, public safety professionals are increasingly eyeing drones — which can fly 60 miles an hour and don’t get stuck in traffic — to deliver help faster than an ambulance or EMT.
Beginning in September Duke University, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, local emergency services and a drone consulting firm will monitor 911 calls and dispatch medical drones armed with defibrillators.
“We’ve never been able to move the needle for cardiac arrest in private settings, and this technology could meet that need,” said Monique Anderson Starks, a cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at Duke, who is leading the program. It will eventually operate six drones at six sites in Forsyth County and James City County, Va., that can deliver AEDs, she said.
An estimated 365,000 people die annually from sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals. For perspective that is equal to more than half the population of Vermont. The odds of survival are only 10% because there are only a few minutes to save them. Once your heart stops pumping oxygenated blood brain damage is irreparable and brain activity ceases after about seven minutes.
In the United States, emergency medical services take an average of seven minutes to arrive after a 911 call, one study found, but the time varies considerably by region.
Drones have revolutionized warfare on the battlefields of Ukraine. Drones are being developed and being tested to deliver goods. Drones can be used for more than delivering a pizza, however. Whereas a food order may be worth only $30 your life is priceless so it makes sense to investigate where drones can make a difference.
Drones are being tested in other types of medical emergencies, too. In Florida, Tampa General Hospital, Manatee County and Archer First Response Systems began a program in May to deliver not only AEDs by drone but also tourniquets and Narcan, the nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. The program currently operates in a 1.5-mile radius, within visual line of sight.In New York City, the police department plans to use drones to drop emergency flotation devices to struggling swimmers at local beaches. Emergency rescuers elsewhere have used drones to locate people who wander away from nursing homes.
Drones are also being used to deliver medical supplies in hard-to-reach areas and pharmacy chains are investigating drone deliveries. One obstacle is the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Drones currently must be used within the operator’s visual line of sight. That means they cannot venture more than a couple of miles from their base. The FAA is working on new regulations, but the federal agency is not known for being fast or flexible.
KFF Health News: It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Medical Response Drone
This is an outstanding service. It can provide devices and/or drugs within a few minutes, but there are some barriers. Distance and/or inaccessible locations