The standards of medical care vary around the world. Often patients find themselves searching out medical care for a very specialized surgery that is only done in few parts of the world. Yet sometimes patients find themselves in dire need of good medical care, but are in a country without the resources and personnel to take care of them. In the event that either of these things happen, it is possible for even critical care patients to be transported to a new hospital or medical facility by air ambulance.

Some examples of specialized surgeries include organ transplants, bone marrow transplants, and unorthodox cancer treatments.

In cases of trauma where a patient needs to be transported to a hospital that can help a patient who is in serious critical condition, a medical aircraft can be mobilized to transfer the patient usually in two to four hours. **

Switching to Medical Care in the U.S.

There are patients, who, for example, need to be transported out of islands off the coast of the United States. Patients who are in the countries of the Carribean or in the Dutch Antilles are transported to and from Miami in emergencies. The air ambulance company doing the transport has to verify that the patient can enter the U.S. and that there is a bed available at the receiving hospital. These things should be done as quickly as possible when in need of switching to U.S. medical care.