Some of the most common reasons people purchase travel insurance are related to protecting themselves from financial loss if they must delay or cancel a trip. However, many people don’t think to specifically request travel insurance that includes medical case management. This little-known benefit offers quick access to U.S. medical professionals who coordinate care for people who get sick or injured while traveling.
SentinelMED’s Lori Calavan, PA-C, knows firsthand about the benefits of medical case management for travelers. Calavan has 15 years of surgical critical care training and experience as wells as aeromedicine certifications. She was recently interviewed by Travel Market Report about some of the travelers she has worked with and how she and other members of the SentinelMED team helped to manage their care.
In the article on Travel Market Report’s website, Calavan explained why travel insurance including medical case management can be a lifesaver in a medical emergency. For example, Calavan worked with a solo traveler in Italy who needed critical care when he became very ill. The man, who was diabetic, had dangerously high blood sugar levels and was put into a medically induced coma at an Italian hospital. When the medical staff took the man out of the coma, he was unable to walk.
Before leaving for Italy, the man had purchased travel insurance through Allianz Global Assistance. As an Allianz partner, SentinelMED provides outsourced medical case management to the company’s policy holders.
Calavan said that members of the SentinelMED team communicated regularly with the man’s doctors, obtained his medical records, and regularly received updates on his condition. This information helped the team determine when he was stable enough to travel back to the United States.
SentinelMED’s team worked with a German airline to reconfigure seats in an airplane cabin so the man could be transported to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and arranged transport and admission for him to a hospital near the man’s hometown.
SentinelMED also arranged for the patient to be transported by air ambulance from Italy to Frankfurt. In total, the trip from Italy to Germany to the hospital in New York took 17 hours.
Calavan told Travel Market Report that while situations like the man’s are unusual, they are becoming more common. The accommodations that the travel industry has made for older adults and people with medical conditions have helped people in their 80s or 90s feel more comfortable traveling than in years past.
Sometimes those travelers aren’t aware of the toll that long fights can take on their bodies, Calavan said, or don’t consider how long it will take to recover from an illness or injury. They also may find that the medical facilities at their destination can’t address their care needs.
According to Calavan, travel insurance including medical case management can ensure travelers receive personalized, coordinated care anywhere in the world.
About SentinelMED
SentinelMED coordinates travel logistics and arranges medical transport, medical repatriation, and medical escort services to people who need assistance to travel long distances. In many cases, people who are sick or injured can travel on commercial flights with care provided by a medical escort – a cost-effective alternative to air ambulance services.
Members of the SentinelMED team have strong working relationships with major airlines and can help facilitate special requests for travelers who are medically compromised. Our team also works closely with hospital case managers and families to provide safe and comfortable door-to-door transportation for such individuals.
At SentinelMED, we understand the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
