Effects of Air Versus Ground Transport on the Interfacility Transfer Patient

The issue facing helicopter transport is that there is little empirical data to document if the mode of transport makes a difference in the outcomes of the patient. The purpose of this study was to test the following: (1) interfacility patients who are transported by helicopter will have a significant reduction in mortality as compared to patients who were transported by ground, (2) interfacility patients who are transported by helicopter will have a significant decrease in total hospital length of stay as compared to patients who were transported by ground, and (3) interfacility patients who are transported by helicopter will have a significant decrease in time of request for transport to arrival at the receiving hospital. The selection of the subjects was based on a physician requesting helicopter transport. There were two groups, one in which subjects received air transport (N=32), and one in which subjects were transported by ground ambulance (N=16). In this way the researcher was able to compare ground versus air transport among similar groups. When comparing whether the groups differ on one or more variables, the researcher used independent t-tests for statistical analysis. Independent t-tests were conducted at the 95% confidence level. The demographics for the two groups were compared using measures of central tendency. The findings were as follows: (1) the group transported by air had a significantly higher rate of mortality than the ground group, (2) the hospital length of stay days was greater for those transported by air, than those transported by ground, (3) those who were transported by ground had longer transport times than those transported by air