Air Force touts 'ICU care in the air'

American servicemen and women are surviving battlefield wounds and other severe medical conditions better than ever before, thanks in part to Critical Care Air Transport Teams (CCATTs), an airborne critical care program that the Air Force calls "ICU care in the air." The Pentagon is beefing up the program by developing an in-flight electronic medical record that will connect with existing Military Health System records and with other technological advances.

"We are working to improve CCATT equipment, such as mobile oxygen storage tanks and airborne wireless communication systems, and continuing to evaluate existing equipment to ensure safety for our patients,"Air Force Surgeon General James G. Roudebush said Monday in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Roudeboush added that on the ground, Air Force Medical Services is working with the Army and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to support a diabetes center of excellence with a cell phone-based mobile management system.

To learn more about the flying ICU and other Air Force mobile health advances:
- read Roudeboush's testimony, as published by TMCnews