title: First, do no harm: the role of defibrillators and advanced medical care in commercial aviation.
abstract: Primum non nocere-First, do no harm. How often have we as physicians and health care providers heard those words? We at American Airlines did not wish to put even one person in harm's way by not having care available to save a life in a remote commercial aviation environment. The decision was purely a business decision of the AMR corporation, who always keeps the welfare of the customer at the fore. It may not be the right choice for the entire commercial aviation industry under an FAA mandate. We know that we will save lives of persons traveling on American Airlines with this program. If the 'ripple' that we have started expands to affect the practices of other commercial air carriers in the domestic United States, American's reward will be a great one-to know that the lives of many people will be saved because one air carrier has taken the first step.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: McKenas
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004630:Emergencies; D005392:First Aid / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States