© 2005 Jeffrey Isaac, PA-C
Appropriate Medical Technology for Wilderness Search and Rescue
...a role for the Physician Advisor
Jeffrey Isaac, PA-C
Search and rescue personnel face an unprecedented array of choices in
technology and training. The pace of advance and the intensity of the marketing
effort can overwhelm the opportunity for critical evaluation. This can easily lead
to the purchase of devices or the adoption of techniques that don't work, are
overly complicated, or too expensive to justify the presumed benefit. It can also
cause avoidance behavior and the perpetuation of obsolete equipment or
protocols that should be replaced or modified.
A physician advisor with an interest in backcountry medicine is in an
excellent position to help team leaders make appropriate choices. There are new
offerings in medical equipment and training that enhance safety and
performance, and we owe it to our teams to bring these to light when we can.
We also have a responsibility to discourage frivolous spending, the imposition of
onerous training requirements, and fostering unrealistic expectations of success.
Critical evaluation and selection requires an open mind tempered by a healthy
skepticism, attention to the science behind the subject, and real-world clinical
experience.
While recent technological advance is stunning, the basic physical
problems faced by SAR teams have changed little. Gravity is still the law, the
weather remains uncontrolled, and human evolution has not offered any recent
improvements in anatomy and physiology. Most rescue equipment is still hauled
and operated by people working in far from ideal circumstances. The value of
any technology must be measured against these irreducible realities, regardless
of its "tool box appeal".
Critical Evaluation
A patient being rescued expects your team to be expert in SAR operations and
wilderness medicine. As consumers of medical equipment and training, your
team expects its suppliers to be expert in SAR equipment and technique. While
some of them are, many are even more expert at marketing and sales. Your
perspective can help make the distinction.
