From technology to humanitarian gestures, there were several newsworthy items recently that made the headlines. Like always, we bring you a roundup of the air ambulance news for you.
5G Rollout and Aviation Safety
There has been a lot of talk about the rollout of wireless 5G technology and the effect that it might have on the ability of aircraft to function without any problems. In this regard, the FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive. The directive pertains specifically to Boeing 737 series aircraft. It is noteworthy that air ambulance vehicles rarely belong to this series. In fact, this publication is not aware of any organization using them. It must be noted that 5G technology is believed to affect gears such as radio altimeter, traffic collision avoidance, thrust reversers, autothrottle, and ground proximity warning systems.
CMS and Its Stand on No Surprises Act
The CMS’ position to go the “enforcement discretion” way for the whole of 2022 has raised some concerns, especially by medical service providers like air ambulance companies. A section of providers feels that the act favors the insurance companies. It was hoped that the discretion would be used to arbitrate the disputes that arise from non-compliance but there is no absolute clarity as of yet. Moreover, the act itself has been subject to litigations. Some feel that the No Surprises Act was enforced in haste and a lot of its components are yet to be ironed out.
Technology to Help Air Ambulance Pilots
Seeing Machine Ltd., a technology company has been awarded a contract worth 1 million Australian dollars. The company will customize its computer-vision technology to help pilots. The objective would be to detect the levels of fatigue in pilots to avoid mishaps that may result from it. The contract would be executed over a period of 10 to 12 years.
