Tracing the Path Ahead for Air Ambulance Industry in India — Tech Use Cases and Obstacles

The worldwide air ambulance market is expected to hit USD 6 Bn by 2026 owing to the ever-growing urban population and surging R&D investments in cutting-edge passenger drones. The market is gaining traction, given innovative and well-armed patient transportation services that are concertedly backed by private hospitals, public establishments, and independent service providers.

Over the past decade, public healthcare infrastructure in India extended its interest into pre-treatment patient transfer services with more than 20,000 ambulances being allocated in more than 30 states/UTs under the National Health Mission (NHM).

The private healthcare industry, which was not far behind as well, has similarly extended its interest in ambulance management. This remarkable step in the public healthcare infrastructure of the country was strengthened with the responsibility to secure quality ambulances services at economical costs — a task that might appear to be easier said than done as it is an immediate outcome of the administrative and operational norms.

Importance of Air Ambulances

In metropolitan cities where road ambulances take significant time to reach, air ambulances appear to be more beneficial. At the time when the patient suffers an acute attack and there is no proper facility nearby, they could be airlifted swiftly to the hospital to have the most suitable treatment using air ambulance services.

Apart from that, there are instances when patients are in such adverse circumstances that they cannot bear long and burdensome road travels to the hospitals. There are incidents where patients generally perish before they even make it to the hospital. Air ambulances make this transfer super-fast and more ideal.

Patients having mortalities, for instance, severe injuries or respiratory failures usually lose the battle for their lives in the first 60 minutes of their healthcare assistance demand. This reduced timeframe is typically known as the ‘Golden Hour’. The air ambulances help patients receive the most suitable treatment within this golden hour, thus, saving lives.

Tech Intervention

As innovation takes off, so does healthcare crisis control, adapting to a new chain of events and leveraging them to step up the nature of patient care. Developments in GPS tracking devices and communication are helping save lives, while other advancements, for instance, energy-efficient gadgets are helping healthcare providers reduce the time their vehicles consume while away.

Air ambulances are increasingly becoming popular in India, especially in regions that require a system of emergency clinics in large urban societies. Currently, a notable number of hospital chains in India have their air ambulance system.

Going forward, air ambulances are also gaining momentum in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The need is huge to the extent that it has attracted several global organizations to the country to provide air ambulance services here. While there is maximum consensus among those related to the healthcare sector that India requires more air ambulance benefits, the fact is these services are still in their early days in India.

Addressing the Upcoming Challenges

While there might be several benefits of supporting and investing in the air ambulance market in India, there are also loads of obstacles. Case in point, infrastructure, regulatory framework, payment system, and insurance cover that should be addressed for sleek operation of air ambulances.

At present, few aircraft transporters are prepped up for air ambulance services -the usual expense for the administration is not reasonable to the entire network.

There are other issues recognized including, air traffic management, which the management has to fix before realizing the dream of a fully operational air ambulance service.

That being said, with adequate infrastructure and government policies, the market could grow by leaps and bounds and be well-placed to manage emergencies.