The air ambulance industry is under a lot of financial pressure at the current time. The reasons are obvious, the low insurance reimbursement rates and the rising cost of maintenance. It is precisely the reason why many medical flight companies are shutting down, even though the demand forecast for the industry is pretty strong.
In the face of such cost pressures, upgrades may seem like a far-fetched idea, but the air ambulance industry is not holding back. The reasons behind this are several. We take a look at a few of the most important ones.
Air Ambulance Industry Regulations
The air ambulance industry is highly regulated by the FAA. Although associated with the medical industry closely, it is considered to be a part of the aviation industry. In light of this, medical flights are expected to conform to additional regulations, apart from those that govern commercial flights. The reason behind this is the high crash rates that the air ambulance industry sees. In fact, the crash rate in the US is the highest when compared to the rest of the world. For this reason, the FAA makes it mandatory to have certain upgrades from time to time.
Technology to Contain Cost
There are times when organizations need to spend a little to save more. Technological upgrades that make operations efficient and less resource-consuming are routinely welcomed by the air ambulance industry. Since the nature of the sector itself is highly technical in nature, any technology that promises to bring efficiency is accepted with open arms by the organizations involved.
Better Patient Care
The medical industry is one that sees a lot of technological advancements and that too within a short period of time. This makes is imperative that the air ambulance industry adopts the changes. Failing to do so can expose any medical flight company to the risk of being rendered obsolete.
