Travel means packing and preparation, despite the reason for your journey or your destination. And if you’re traveling for health reasons or with medical assistance, you need also need to pack the correct documentation for medical travel.
What you’ll need to pack will depend on how long you’ll be gone, how far you’re traveling and whether you’re traveling internationally. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a list of documentation typically needed for medical travel. Of course, you’ll want to talk to your local physician before traveling for medical treatment, whether inside or outside the United States, or if you require medical assistance, such as a medical escort, to be able to travel.
For travel within the United States, your packing list should include:
- Your health insurance card
- Contact information for your local doctors
- Basic information about your blood type and any known allergies to food, insects or medicines
- Copies of all prescriptions, including for medicine, medical supplies and eyeglasses
- Contact information for health care providers at your destination; this is especially true if you are traveling for medical treatment
- A contact card with the street addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of family members or other contacts in the United States
- A letter from your physician documenting the use of any medical devices, such as a pacemaker, that may require alternative security screening at an airport
- A medical ID, such as a bracelet, that can help first responders quickly identify if you have a medical condition such as diabetes or severe allergies
- State-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s license or REAL ID
- Enough medicine, in its original bottle or packaging, to last the duration of your trip, plus a few extra days
- If you’re pregnant, you may want to ask your doctor for a letter that states your expected delivery date
In addition, take a few minutes to visit the website of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). It lists specific screening procedures that apply to people with chronic medical conditions. You’ll find information on what to expect if you bring medical devices, such as respiratory equipment, insulin pumps and prosthetics, through checkpoints. TSA also details screening procedures for people who have dementia, autism and low vision, among other conditions.
Documentation for Medical Travel Outside the United States
If you are traveling outside the United States – even to Mexico or Canada – you’ll want to bring everything on the list above, as well as the following:
- Passport, including visa if required to enter your destination country
- Proof of yellow fever vaccination, if required by the country you are entering
- Address and contact information for the hotel or other lodging at your destination
- Contact information, stored in your phone and on paper, for the U.S. embassy or consulate at the country or countries you’ll be visiting
- Copies of your medical records, particularly if you are traveling for medical tourism
You may want to have key information translated into the primary language spoken in the country where the procedure will be performed.
If You’re Traveling with Medical Assistance or a Medical Escort
Even if you are traveling with medical assistance, such as a medical escort, it will be helpful to have documentation for medical travel. While assisting patients, medical escorts may need to consult with TSA officials about administering supplemental oxygen or medication, for example.
Arranging Medical Transportation Services
Medical escorts can help people travel long distances in comfort and safety, whether for medical treatment or because they have chronic or serious health problems. Medical escorts are typically arranged through companies such as SentinelMED, one of the country’s top medical transportation services. SentinelMED escorts are ICU- or emergency-medicine professionals. In many cases they accompany patients on commercial airlines, a cost-effective alternative to air ambulance services.
SentinelMED also provides door-to-door medical transportation and medical repatriation services to help patients and their caregivers navigate the complexities of long-distance travel. This includes working with hospital case managers before a patient is discharged to coordinate transport to a receiving medical facility.
The SentinelMED team understands the complexity of delivering exceptional care to people who need medical assistance during travel. Please contact us learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
