Medaire Questions

[Mercury]

Need some info from those who currently contract with Medaire. Specifically, have you ever used the service, is it soley the FA's job or can a pilot leave the cockpit to help? How involved do you get with the treatment? Do you head for a suitable field immediately or does Medaire make the call as to when you need to divert? If so does ATC coordinate the Fire/Rescue upon landing or will Medaire call ahead and request the EMTs?

I know thhese questions might sound a little silly but I was forwarded the Medaire brouchure by my boss and told to "look into it". I thought i'd try to get some info from companies that actually use it before I called Medaire and got the full blown sales pitch. Any info would be great. Thanks

 

[2000flyer]

Need some info from those who currently contract with Medaire. Specifically, have you ever used the service, is it soley the FA's job or can a pilot leave the cockpit to help? How involved do you get with the treatment? Do you head for a suitable field immediately or does Medaire make the call as to when you need to divert? If so does ATC coordinate the Fire/Rescue upon landing or will Medaire call ahead and request the EMTs?

I know thhese questions might sound a little silly but I was forwarded the Medaire brouchure by my boss and told to "look into it". I thought i'd try to get some info from companies that actually use it before I called Medaire and got the full blown sales pitch. Any info would be great. Thanks

I recently went through a Medaire crew/pax security class and it was excellent. Of course, over blown for most operations if you ask me. In their eyes (of course, they're selling it) you should have a minimum of one defib on each aircraft and one at the hangar. You should carry every possible medication you might need when traveling to tinbucktwo including complete medical kit with sutchers (sp?); you're complete medical history in case you go to the hospital, etc etc etc. Now, if you do considerable travel to the third world countries, I'd agree to most of this. However, the odd trip to London, Paris, etc. it's overkill, IMHO.

Now, one thing worth watching very closely with Medaire is they recently went through what amounts to a hostile takeover. Their founder/President was dumped like a cheap date. I'm sure there is going to be considerable reorganization so their business model make need some ringing out before you take the plunge with them.

 

[Lead Sled]

I've used their services twice...
Once for an incapacitated copilot on a flight out of South America with a bad case of e-coli. It was very serious and the guy was hospitalized for a couple of days when we landed in Texas to clear customs. The second time was for a passenger that experienced an incapacitating migraine on a coast-to-coast flight.

Personally, I feel that the Medaire program is just like any other insurance program - you're paying for "what if" scenarios. Is it worth it? I know a couple of people who were sold on the program. Other than that, I basically agree with what 2000flyer said.

Sled

'Sled

 

[mike1mc]

We used MedAire for about 1 1/2 years. The training is excellent. We dropped them for AirCare because we had a problem when a copilot called with a medical issue. He was denied service because they couldn't find any information on us. We had a current contract that they found the next day after my complaint. He wound up going to the emergency room that night. I was told it would never happen again, and I know this is probably a rare occurence, but we decided to let our contract expire. I have never needed to use AirCare Int'l so I can't say anything about their Emergency Repsonse. All of our F/A's take their FACTS training and it is highly rated.

 

[Mercury]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[maddogg]

Mercury,

I have been an EMT for the last fifteen years and just set up a whole CPR/Defibrilator program for my current flight department. It was very enjoyable and I learned a lot. We use Medlink for our department because they allowed me to do all of our training in house since I was already an instructor. Send me a PM and I will be more than happy to talk about your situation and some things you should be thinking about.

Maddogg