Corporate travelers make an estimated 480 million business trips each year, according to the Global Business Travel Association. Many of these employees are traveling long distance by air, with China being the No. 1 destination for all business travel. With so many people traveling long distances for their employers, it’s inevitable that some will become injured or ill while far from home. Corporate medical travel assistance can provide peace of mind for both employers and employees by ensuring a safe and comfortable return home.
For HR managers, CEOs and business owners, it’s worthwhile to consider the following scenarios:
- The chief marketing officer travels from New York to California to represent your company at a three-day conference; on the last day of the conference she suffers a heart-attack that requires immediate hospitalization.
- An expatriate employee on long-term assignment in Vietnam is diagnosed with late stage cancer and needs to return to the United States for treatment.
- A division head working on factory startup in Mexico is badly injured in a car accident and is believed to have suffered a brain injury. He needs to return to the United States to be assessed at a facility equipped to diagnose and treat brain injuries.
- A member of your company’s board of directors has advanced multiple sclerosis, or MS. Her doctor has cleared her to travel to your company’s annual meeting, but requires some assistance to fly on a commercial airline.
The scenarios described above are all examples where corporate medical travel assistance can make a difference in an employee receiving immediate and urgent medical care. In these examples, air travel would be most safe, efficient and comfortable for transportation for the employee.
Corporate medical travel assistance usually falls into one of three categories:
Non-emergency medical transportation. This would be a good transportation option for the last example described above. If the member of your board who has MS is concerned about traveling, your company could hire a trained medical escort to assist her in check in, during TSA screening, throughout the flight and when traveling to your meeting location. The escort will ensure she remains comfortable and can administer any prescription medicines and medical care needed. This service can provide peace of mind and reduce stress during long-distance travel.
Medical evacuation. Medical evacuation is used when someone has been injured, in an accident or otherwise needs emergency medical care. This can include transporting patients to the closest medical facility that can provide appropriate care, or transferring patients who are considered unstable from one medical facility to another. This option might be appropriate for your CMO who had a heart attack or your division head who was in a car accident. Medical evacuation could get these employees to a medical facility that can appropriate care, which may be one close to home.
Medical repatriation. When patients are being medically repatriated, it is implied that any acute medical conditions have been addressed and they are returning home for recuperation, long-term care or specific treatments. This might be the best option in the example above for your expatriate employee on long-term assignment who has been diagnosed with cancer.
How to Find Corporate Medical Travel Assistance
As globalization of industries continues and more countries become business travel destinations, corporate leaders must be prepared for employee accidents or illnesses. That includes identifying an experienced and professional medical transport service, such as SentinelMED.
SentinelMED’s logistics and medical professionals work with employers, employees and their families determine the form of transportation that is appropriate for patients, depending on their medical condition, destination, and language or cultural needs.
We work with employers to manage the process from end-to-end. This typically includes speaking to the treating and receiving facility staff, obtaining medical clearances, arranging air and ground travel, obtaining proper travel documents, and acquiring any necessary medications and equipment. Patients who need a medical escort are assisted during every stage of travel by a nurse, physician or physician assistant who is trained or experienced in emergency medicine.
At SentinelMED, we understand the complexity of delivering exceptional care to people who need assistance to travel long-distances. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about our services and staff.
