When individuals need medical care while traveling, the stress of being away from home can influence decisions about their treatment. In such situations, individuals and their families may put too much weight on the disadvantages of medical travel – particularly cost.
Travel insurance companies can help their customers weigh their treatment options with medical travel management services from SentinelMED. SentinelMED’s team of logistics and medical professionals are skilled in providing guidance on the transport options that best meet patients’ needs.
Here are factors we consider as medical travel management consultants to the travel industry.
Patient comfort. Stress can intensify pain perception and interfere with healing. When making medical travel recommendations, we always consider the patient’s comfort along with their medical condition. For example, some patients may be able to travel comfortably while sitting up and with the assistance of a medical or non-medical escort. Other patients may need to be transported in a prone position, eliminating some transport options.
Outcome. Medical outcomes for patients can include reduced pain, positive response to treatment, or the cure of a disease. An outcome of medical travel could be to get a patient with a compound bone fracture to a facility where they can be appropriately treated and then to another medical facility for physical therapy and rehabilitation.
While the disadvantages of medical travel may be obvious, like inconvenience and expense, they must be considered along with the desired medical outcome for the patient. We'll discuss the disadvantages of medical travel with travel insurance companies, so their customers and their families have the information they need to make informed decisions.
Cost. The costs of medical transportation can vary widely. According to a study reported in the American Journal of Managed Care, “The average charge associated with fixed-wing air ambulance transports rose 27.6%, from $19,210 in 2017 to $24,507 in 2020.” For rotary wing aircraft, the average charge “rose 22.2%, from $24,924 in 2017 to $30,446 in 2020.”
Costs for international transport are typically much higher. The SentinelMED team is skilled in working with travel insurance companies to consider a patient's insurance coverage and the cost of transport options to determine the solution that best addresses the other factors mentioned above, including outcome and comfort.
When appropriate, we can arrange and manage the logistics of transporting patients by commercial aircraft with the assistance of a medical or non-medical escort. This can be a cost-effective alternative to transport by air ambulance. Our medical escorts are trained or experienced in emergency and critical care medicine, which can provide peace of mind for patients and their families during a medical transport.
About SentinelMED
SentinelMED offers medical transport management, medical repatriation, and medical escort services to people who need assistance to travel long distances. The SentinelMED team is skilled at arranging transport for patients worldwide.
Our logistics professionals also work closely with hospital case managers, patients, and their families to provide safe and comfortable door-to-door transportation.
At SentinelMED, we work regularly with travel companies to deliver exceptional care to travelers who need medical transport management after an accident or injury. Please contact us to learn more about the medical travel management services that SentinelMED provides to travel companies.
