The Journal of EMS published a study in April 2014 that examined the outcomes for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients transferred between hospitals by air vs. ground ambulance. The study looked at 43 transfers of at least 30 miles between two hospitals within one STEMI system. After a two-year period of air transportation with suboptimal treatment times, the referring hospital switched to ground transport. The conclusion was that using ground ambulance to transport the patients significantly reduced the "door in door out" time at the first facility (from 70 minutes to 35 minutes) and reduced the "first medical contact to balloon time" (from 123 minutes to 90 minutes).
