airRx's History
For many years, there have been scattered stories and opinion pieces about the lack of organization in the way medical emergencies on board commercial airplanes are handled. The issue has been covered by ABC news, CNN, NPR, Huffington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Time Magazine just to name a few. The New England Journal of Medicine has put in an effort with articles in 2013 and 2015, and many improvements have been suggested. However, little has changed.
Starting about 2 years ago AirRx, a non-profit organization headquartered in Peoria, IL, gathered a multidisciplinary team including experts in aerospace medicine, emergency medicine, and ground support for in-flight emergencies to come up with a solution.
Starting about 2 years ago AirRx, a non-profit organization headquartered in Peoria, IL, gathered a multidisciplinary team including experts in aerospace medicine, emergency medicine, and ground support for in-flight emergencies to come up with a solution.
The outcome is airRx, the only smartphone app developed to prepare and help medical personnel volunteering to assist fellow travelers experiencing medical emergencies while in flight. Medically trained volunteers can use airRx to access 23 scenarios of the most common medical emergencies, with concise treatment algorithms and quick reference information to help evaluate and treat the patient. airRx is available for FREE Download for both iOS or Android.
airRx is specifically aimed at the health professional who does not treat acute medical events on a routine basis. It has background information about equipment and medications available, how the cabin crew can help, what the roles of the cabin and flight crews are, how ground medical support is used in these events and the medicolegal aspects of volunteering to assist.
“Across the world, 150-200 medical emergencies occur every day on airplanes,” according to Dr. Claude Thibeault, former President of the Aerospace Medical Association and former Medical Director for Air Canada. “Planes are one of the most challenging places in which to treat a medical event.”
“There is no formal physician training in medical school in handling in-flight medical emergencies,” according to Dr. Paulo Magalhães Alves, Global Medical Director of Aviation Health for MedAire. “Many physician volunteers work in subspecialty areas in which they do not regularly see emergent events." "It is essential that every physician who answers the call to assist have immediate access to this information in real time on the plane.”
airRx is designed to bridge the knowledge gap, providing a real-time checklist and quick reference handbook to improve emergent medical situations. So far, it has been downloaded in 75 countries. It is meant for use around the world.
The app is non-profit and free for download from Apple App and Google Play Stores. The app is fully functional in airplane mode.
airRx is specifically aimed at the health professional who does not treat acute medical events on a routine basis. It has background information about equipment and medications available, how the cabin crew can help, what the roles of the cabin and flight crews are, how ground medical support is used in these events and the medicolegal aspects of volunteering to assist.
“Across the world, 150-200 medical emergencies occur every day on airplanes,” according to Dr. Claude Thibeault, former President of the Aerospace Medical Association and former Medical Director for Air Canada. “Planes are one of the most challenging places in which to treat a medical event.”
“There is no formal physician training in medical school in handling in-flight medical emergencies,” according to Dr. Paulo Magalhães Alves, Global Medical Director of Aviation Health for MedAire. “Many physician volunteers work in subspecialty areas in which they do not regularly see emergent events." "It is essential that every physician who answers the call to assist have immediate access to this information in real time on the plane.”
airRx is designed to bridge the knowledge gap, providing a real-time checklist and quick reference handbook to improve emergent medical situations. So far, it has been downloaded in 75 countries. It is meant for use around the world.
The app is non-profit and free for download from Apple App and Google Play Stores. The app is fully functional in airplane mode.