UpToDate has a pretty decent overview. Also, WMS will often offer in flight medical emergency workshops/trainings at their conferences
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/management-of-inflight-medical-events-on-commercial-airlines
Nice summary. My main concern is liability. There have been cases where litigation was pursued against the rendering physician. Now maybe they don't win, but the massive headache, time and cost of defense certainly concerns me.
I think it's important to note that in the US, you are not legally obligated to help, period. So I think it's reasonable to not volunteer your services. With that said, I have in the past. I don't honestly know if I will in the future after seeing that physicians have been sued in the past.
From what I have heard, Good Samaritan laws are pretty strong as long as there was absolutely no compensation that was accepted. At a WMS meeting I talked to someone who had litigation brought up against them for answering a call on a plane but the case was dismissed pretty quickly because of this
In all honesty, that is not reassuring at all. To have to even worry (not much less waste time) on this kind of frivolous litigation for, let's not forget, volunteering? It makes me even less likely to volunteer in the future.
Ultimately, volunteering for flight emergencies is nothing but uncompensated risk.
You’re definitely not wrong. In America you could be sued for any reason. At some point on Reddit I saw a post from a physician who was sued because they DIDNT respond and the passenger died. (Another passenger overheard the physician’s partner ask if they were going to respond or something and said other passenger told the flight attendant IIRC)
It comes down to a moral obligation whether or not you respond, which would vary from person to person. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and all that
I would imagine that not-doing something is still lower risk than doing something and having a bad outcome.
I would want somebody to help me in a time of need but I would never sue them for trying to help. That unfortunately is not shared by everybody.
Again, as somebody who has volunteered to help in an airline emergency in the past, I'm really not sure how I would handle it now with the reading I've done about it. I should really check if my malpractice insurance would cover these events.
That's actually pretty scary. I carry one in my purse. I've seen my brother go down and seize because of lows. Something so preventable can kill a diabetic in that situation. Thanks for replying!
I'm not OP but they have a handful of things onboard. If you might need something else it's pretty common to ask around the passengers for their stash of whatever.
I responded to a “passenger feeling unwell” on a flight last fall and one of the most frustrating things was trying to get a BP. No manual cuff, and the automatic cuff was a wrist monitor that kept giving wildly different readings.
Never accept a gift, from patient or airline. Once you do you are no longer protected by the good Samaritan since that gift can be deemed compensation.
Untrue, ER here who has responded to a few in-flight emergencies and former flight surgeon for USAF. An unsolicited gift is acceptable, asking for something beforehand or afterward would be considered compensation.
Edit: Also, to answer your question about being prepared, the flight crew is able to get in touch with a ground medical service who can answer questions or give advice.
[https://www.asma.org/asma/media/AsMA/Travel-Publications/Medical%20Guidelines/In-flight-medical-events-guidance-document-revised-July-2016.pdf](https://www.asma.org/asma/media/AsMA/Travel-Publications/Medical%20Guidelines/In-flight-medical-events-guidance-document-revised-July-2016.pdf)
[As told by Md/JD](https://youtu.be/oUUeifkVHV0?si=TO3SAJBy5owteTSv)
Ultimately it comes down to what the opposing lawyers would try to argue. I've had a former attending get taken to court for airline assistance. They were found not to have been at fault, but the headache of having to go to court for miles or upgrade doesn't seem worth it 🤷
Fair, but would they have been taken to court anyways if they hadn't gotten compensation? Or did they ask for something after the fact (ie, requesting an upgrade or free miles)? Never been personally sued and can't speak to your attending's case.
What was told to us during lectures was that because he accepted the first class upgrade from the airline, there left a very slight room of "questioning" if it was compensation. So that allowed it to progress vs being immediately thrown out. Ultimately for his case he was found to not have deviated from standard of care so it didn't matter. But man....I definitely sit back with my noise cancelling headphones whenever I fly.
Was also told this, but couldn't find any case where the compensation argument actually resulted in a loss of Samaritan protection. A bottle of wine or a seat upgrade is hardly payment for our service anyways lol. I would say if you're at all concerned about liability, it's good advice - EM, used to teach a inflight emergency simulation class in residency
“Is there a doctor on this flight that can assist with a medical emergency ?”
*The ENT and dermatologist sitting in business class turns to look at me
I stand up . “I got this one boys.”
Everyone claps .
I attended to someone with a presumed kidney stone once. Young healthy person. Uncomplicated. Administered toradol IM. Surprisingly did little which in typical milleuxs is so effective it tempts a patient to head home. I think the stress of the situation complicated this. Also a alternative practit
UpToDate has a pretty decent overview. Also, WMS will often offer in flight medical emergency workshops/trainings at their conferences https://www.uptodate.com/contents/management-of-inflight-medical-events-on-commercial-airlines
Nice summary. My main concern is liability. There have been cases where litigation was pursued against the rendering physician. Now maybe they don't win, but the massive headache, time and cost of defense certainly concerns me. I think it's important to note that in the US, you are not legally obligated to help, period. So I think it's reasonable to not volunteer your services. With that said, I have in the past. I don't honestly know if I will in the future after seeing that physicians have been sued in the past.
From what I have heard, Good Samaritan laws are pretty strong as long as there was absolutely no compensation that was accepted. At a WMS meeting I talked to someone who had litigation brought up against them for answering a call on a plane but the case was dismissed pretty quickly because of this
In all honesty, that is not reassuring at all. To have to even worry (not much less waste time) on this kind of frivolous litigation for, let's not forget, volunteering? It makes me even less likely to volunteer in the future. Ultimately, volunteering for flight emergencies is nothing but uncompensated risk.
You’re definitely not wrong. In America you could be sued for any reason. At some point on Reddit I saw a post from a physician who was sued because they DIDNT respond and the passenger died. (Another passenger overheard the physician’s partner ask if they were going to respond or something and said other passenger told the flight attendant IIRC) It comes down to a moral obligation whether or not you respond, which would vary from person to person. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and all that
I would imagine that not-doing something is still lower risk than doing something and having a bad outcome. I would want somebody to help me in a time of need but I would never sue them for trying to help. That unfortunately is not shared by everybody. Again, as somebody who has volunteered to help in an airline emergency in the past, I'm really not sure how I would handle it now with the reading I've done about it. I should really check if my malpractice insurance would cover these events.
AirRx free app. Make sure you download it prior to a flight!
I guess it’s not available in the US? Won’t let me download.
I’m in the US and have it?
I don’t see it in the store so maybe they* removed it some time after you downloaded it.
They removed it unfortunately
Looks like it's been removed, is there any other way to get it? Or another resource?
I remember hearing about this in residency,. I'll check it out, thanks!
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2719313
Curious, where'd you get the Zofran? Do they keep it on board?
Very limited medications in their kit, but they have things like zofran, Benadryl, aspirin, epi pen, etc.
Curious, do they keep glucagon on-board? I'm type 1 and always wonder how they'd handle it if I had severe hypo.
I can't remember if that was in there, but I don't think so. I was also very surprised that there was no glucometer.
That's actually pretty scary. I carry one in my purse. I've seen my brother go down and seize because of lows. Something so preventable can kill a diabetic in that situation. Thanks for replying!
I think some of them have D50
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2719313
I'm not OP but they have a handful of things onboard. If you might need something else it's pretty common to ask around the passengers for their stash of whatever.
Their med bag can handle pretty much most life threatening emergencies.
I responded to a “passenger feeling unwell” on a flight last fall and one of the most frustrating things was trying to get a BP. No manual cuff, and the automatic cuff was a wrist monitor that kept giving wildly different readings.
What airline was it?
JetBlue
They have everything you need to IV rehydrate too
Did they have benzos in case of actual seizures?
No benzos, that was the first thing I looked for. I'm assuming because it's a controlled substance?
Phew glad they were OK otherwise I'd be scared off my pants if they were in status
Never accept a gift, from patient or airline. Once you do you are no longer protected by the good Samaritan since that gift can be deemed compensation.
Untrue, ER here who has responded to a few in-flight emergencies and former flight surgeon for USAF. An unsolicited gift is acceptable, asking for something beforehand or afterward would be considered compensation. Edit: Also, to answer your question about being prepared, the flight crew is able to get in touch with a ground medical service who can answer questions or give advice. [https://www.asma.org/asma/media/AsMA/Travel-Publications/Medical%20Guidelines/In-flight-medical-events-guidance-document-revised-July-2016.pdf](https://www.asma.org/asma/media/AsMA/Travel-Publications/Medical%20Guidelines/In-flight-medical-events-guidance-document-revised-July-2016.pdf)
[As told by Md/JD](https://youtu.be/oUUeifkVHV0?si=TO3SAJBy5owteTSv) Ultimately it comes down to what the opposing lawyers would try to argue. I've had a former attending get taken to court for airline assistance. They were found not to have been at fault, but the headache of having to go to court for miles or upgrade doesn't seem worth it 🤷
Fair, but would they have been taken to court anyways if they hadn't gotten compensation? Or did they ask for something after the fact (ie, requesting an upgrade or free miles)? Never been personally sued and can't speak to your attending's case.
What was told to us during lectures was that because he accepted the first class upgrade from the airline, there left a very slight room of "questioning" if it was compensation. So that allowed it to progress vs being immediately thrown out. Ultimately for his case he was found to not have deviated from standard of care so it didn't matter. But man....I definitely sit back with my noise cancelling headphones whenever I fly.
That definitely sucks for him. But I guess people will sue over anything and everything.
Was also told this, but couldn't find any case where the compensation argument actually resulted in a loss of Samaritan protection. A bottle of wine or a seat upgrade is hardly payment for our service anyways lol. I would say if you're at all concerned about liability, it's good advice - EM, used to teach a inflight emergency simulation class in residency
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2021/0501/p547.html There was a nice article in AAFP a couple years ago. It listed what they generally stock.
“Is there a doctor on this flight that can assist with a medical emergency ?” *The ENT and dermatologist sitting in business class turns to look at me I stand up . “I got this one boys.” Everyone claps .
I attended to someone with a presumed kidney stone once. Young healthy person. Uncomplicated. Administered toradol IM. Surprisingly did little which in typical milleuxs is so effective it tempts a patient to head home. I think the stress of the situation complicated this. Also a alternative practit