EE129 The Estimated Cost-Effectiveness of Physician-Staffed HEMS in Finland

Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) play an important role in prehospital care of the critically ill, and have several advantages compared to ground ambulance units. Since the unit cost of HEMS is higher than traditional ground-based Emergency Medical Services (EMS), it is important to further investigate the impact of HEMS and asses the conditions that would allow for the optimization of these services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of physician-staffed HEMS compared to Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance-based EMS under current practices and in developed scenarios with various improvements in patient selection and aviation performance.