Air ambulance transport is widely regarded as improving the chances of survival for trauma victims and other critical patients. However, recent increases in the number of air ambulance accidents have led to greater industry scrutiny by gov¿t. agencies, the public, the media, and the industry itself. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and others have called on the FAA, which provides safety oversight, to issue more stringent safety requirements for the industry. This testimony discusses: (1) recent trends in the air ambulance industry with regard to its size, composition, and safety record; (2) recent industry and gov¿t. efforts to improve air ambulance safety; and (3) potential strategies for improving air ambulance safety. Charts and tables.

Aviation Safety: Potential Strategies to Address Air Ambulance Safety Concerns

To improve aviation safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to have in place the initial capabilities of a risk-based approach to safety oversight, known as a safety management system (SMS), by the end of fiscal year 2010. FAA is also implementing new procedures and technologies to enhance the safety, capacity, and efficiency of the national airspace system. Data are central to SMS and FAA's ability to test the impact of these changes on safety. This report addresses FAA's: (1) current and planned use of data to oversee aviation safety; (2) access to data for monitoring aviation safety and the safety performance of various industry sectors; and (3) efforts to help ensure data quality. Charts and tables.

Continuing its superiority in the health care risk management field, this sixth edition of The Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations is written by the key practitioners and consultant in the field. It contains more practical chapters and health care examples and additional material on methods and techniques of risk reduction and management. It also revises the structure of the previous edition, and focuses on operational and organizational structure rather than risk areas and functions. The three volumes are written using a practical and user-friendly approach.

This is a resource for EMS services worldwide edited by an international team of experts. It helps EMS professionals plan and prepare for their role in saving lives.

Building on the revolutionary Institute of Medicine reports To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, Keeping Patients Safe lays out guidelines for improving patient safety by changing nurses' working conditions and demands. Licensed nurses and unlicensed nursing assistants are critical participants in our national effort to protect patients from health care errors. The nature of the activities nurses typically perform â€" monitoring patients, educating home caretakers, performing treatments, and rescuing patients who are in crisis â€" provides an indispensable resource in detecting and remedying error-producing defects in the U.S. health care system. During the past two decades, substantial changes have been made in the organization and delivery of health care â€" and consequently in the job description and work environment of nurses. As patients are increasingly cared for as outpatients, nurses in hospitals and nursing homes deal with greater severity of illness. Problems in management practices, employee deployment, work and workspace design, and the basic safety culture of health care organizations place patients at further risk. This newest edition in the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine Quality Chasm series discusses the key aspects of the work environment for nurses and reviews the potential improvements in working conditions that are likely to have an impact on patient safety.