Emergency Medicine at 30,000 Feet: Dr. Paulo Alves, Global Medical Director for Medaire

PeerSpectrum | Journeys in Medicine

If you fly often, it's only a matter of time before you hear those not so welcome words over the intercom: "Is there a doctor or medical professional aboard?" So, do you hit your flight attendant button, or wait for someone else to do it first? When you're stuck at 30,000 feet, options are limited. You might even feel a little like our past guest, Dr. Gavin Francis, serving as the only doctor available in a remote Antarctic research base. So what are your options? Who can you call for assistance? Is there medical equipment available? What are your legal risks and ethical responsibilities? How often does this stuff actually happen? Today we're going behind the scenes with Dr. Paulo Alves, global medical director for Medaire, a company contracted with most the world's commercial airlines to provide real-time medical assistance from their emergency command center in Phoenix, Arizona. If that's not exciting enough, they also specialize in emergency medical evacuations, crew training, and medical and security preparations for private jets, yachts and even cruise ships. It's a fascinating world many of us know very little about. With that said let's get started...