Just wanted to run this situation by everyone and get their opinions on it.
Our local hospital had a patient with a partial thumb amputation. Replantation center is 45 min to 1 hour away by ground, so they called for a helicopter transfer. Now, the thing is this patient was completely stable...AAOx3, BP 120/70, HR 70, SpO2 = 100% room air, RR = 16/regular. The hospital had bandaged the patient's hand and that was about it. Not even on O2 and wasn't even in the hospital cot when the flight crew arrived.
So what does everyone think? On one hand, a thumb is the most important digit and a successful replant greatly benefits quality of life. On the other hand, $20,000+ bill for what Is essentially a BLS transfer and taking a limited aeromedical resource out of service
Our local hospital had a patient with a partial thumb amputation. Replantation center is 45 min to 1 hour away by ground, so they called for a helicopter transfer. Now, the thing is this patient was completely stable...AAOx3, BP 120/70, HR 70, SpO2 = 100% room air, RR = 16/regular. The hospital had bandaged the patient's hand and that was about it. Not even on O2 and wasn't even in the hospital cot when the flight crew arrived.
So what does everyone think? On one hand, a thumb is the most important digit and a successful replant greatly benefits quality of life. On the other hand, $20,000+ bill for what Is essentially a BLS transfer and taking a limited aeromedical resource out of service