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How Phoenix Doctors Help With In-Flight Medical Emergencies All Over The World

By Annika Cline
Published: Thursday, May 7, 2015 - 3:15pm
Updated: Thursday, May 7, 2015 - 5:49pm
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(Photo courtesy of MedAire)
At least 90,000 planes take off every day around the globe and about 100 of them make a call to the Phoenix MedAire call center to talk with one of five communication specialists.
(Photo courtesy of MedAire)
The call center is located in the emergency department of Banner Health Good Samaritan Hospital where doctors are available to take calls around the clock.

How many times have you been traveling when the person sitting next to you starts to cough or sniffle. Is the first thought that runs through your head, “Is there a doctor on this plane?”

The answer isn’t always “yes,” but for many airlines, a doctor is just a phone call away — and often the medical professionals who answer the call are right here in Phoenix.

At least 90,000 planes take off every day around the globe and about 100 of them make a call to a MedAire call center in Phoenix to talk with one of five communication specialists.

"And if you just can imagine all of the people that are in the air at any given point in time it’s, it’s like a city," said Heidi MacFarlane, vice president of Aviation Work Health and Emergency Services Products for MedAire.

It's a city with no drug stores, no clinics and no hospitals. But emergencies don’t stop at 40,000 feet, which is where MedAire comes in.

The call center is located in the emergency department of Banner Health Good Samaritan Hospital where doctors are available to take calls around the clock.

More than 120 airlines worldwide use this call center for in-flight medical concerns. First, a communication specialist takes the call, gets the gist of what’s going on, then hands it over to a doctor.

Usually the calls are for non-life-threatening emergencies.

"For the last 30 years, the most common reported situation to us is fainting," MacFarlane said.

Services like this mean planes don’t have to make as many emergency landings for incidents that can be handled with a call.

MedAire said its airlines only divert one plane per every million passengers carried.

But the best thing, MacFarlane said, is when MedAire can save a life.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been modified to reflect MedAire receives about 100 calls per day.

Edited 5/7/2015 at 5:49 p.m.

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