title: If all ambulances could fly: putting provincial standards of emergency care access to the test in Northern British Columbia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Geographic access to emergency treatment remains an important public policy concern as rural emergency medical systems respond to various pressures to centralize services. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are effective tools to determine what proportion of a given population is adequately served by existing or proposed service distributions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study compares 2 GIS approaches to determining whether recent standards of emergency care access established by the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services are being met in Northern British Columbia. In particular, we compare results obtained using the more commonly used straight-line, or "as the crow flies," method with those obtained using a more sophisticated method that estimates travel time using digitally referenced road network data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both methods reveal that provincial standards of emergency access are not being met in Northern British Columbia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In terms of comparing the 2 approaches, the network technique indicated a lower level of access and was more accurate in identifying populations residing inside and outside the "golden hour" of emergency care.
authors.affiliation: University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hanlon
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Emmons
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voaklander
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D017732:Air Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D001955:British Columbia; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000592:standards; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*