New Standards Proposed

Abstract

The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) Accreditation Standards are revised every 2 to 3 years to keep current with the dynamic change in medical transport. The current 7th edition standards were published in 2006 and will not be fully revised until late 2009. The Standards Committee will be working on very broad changes in format for the eighth edition to focus on outcomes and streamline the pre-survey questionnaire and site survey process. A risk analysis tool is also in the testing process by site surveyors and will be introduced to programs by Spring 2009. Since the 7th edition accreditation standards were published, a lot has happened. From February 5 to June 29, 2008, there were seven rotor-wing accidents; four occurred at night, with a total of 17 fatalities. The Federal Aviation Administration held a meeting with the aviation operators on July 11, and the air medical associations held a Safety Summit on July 25 to discuss the accidents and the need to refocus our efforts to reduce accidents. Safety culture was a large part of the discussions at the summit. Safety Culture has been discussed at CAMTS board meetings since 2006, when we started to develop a publication we are calling Creating a Culture of Quality and Safety. The goal of this book is to give readers the multidisciplinary insight to culture as the foundation of safety and quality. Guest authors who are experts in human factors, safety culture, risk analysis, Just Culture, and so forth, will contribute chapters to aid readers in managing multidisciplinary teams and strengthening the culture in various business models. At the July 2008 CAMTS board of directors meeting, the board discussed each accident in 2008 and drafted some proposed changes and additions to the 7th edition standards. The following proposed standards have been posted and announced on the web site, in newsletters, and in public forums for open discussion. We welcome all comments and questions about the proposed changes, which will become effective in the first quarter of 2009 after the extensive comment period. These proposed changes will be published as an addendum to the 7th edition standards.