You’ve checked that your passport is current, your seat assignments are correct, and your walking shoes are packed. But if you haven’t crossed “preparing for a medical emergency” off your to-do list when planning for international travel, you aren’t ready to leave for the airport.
Ensuring you’re ready for the unexpected doesn’t take very long, and it can protect your health and your finances if you're sick, injured, or thousands of miles from home.
Here are four simple things to do in the weeks before you travel internationally to ensure you're prepared if you or a travel companion experience a medical emergency.
Review your emergency contacts. Make sure the list on your phone is up to date. Then, print out your list or copy it into a small notebook that you’ll carry with you at all times. It might seem unnecessary, but phones can get broken and lost, and if you’re unconscious or experiencing a serious emergency, you might not be able to tell medical personnel your PIN.
Share your itinerary with others. Give your friends and family members information about where you’ll be each day, including flight information, hotel names, or addresses for where you’ll be staying. If you are in a remote area, set check-in days for when you'll send emails or messages through apps like WhatsApp.
Pack important medical documents, medicine, and prescriptions. You can save documentation of your existing medical conditions, implanted medical devices, and any treatment you might need while traveling on your phone, but bring printed copies, too.
For prescription medicine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that “many countries allow a 30-day supply of certain medicines, but also require the traveler to carry a prescription or a medical certificate from their health care provider.” If you take a medicine that’s a controlled substance, such as some medicine for ADHD, check with the embassies of countries you’ll be visiting, including when you stop for layovers, to make sure those medicines are permitted.
Check in with your doctor. If you have a medical condition that requires ongoing treatment and monitoring, talk to your doctor before you travel. You may need to adjust your medicines as you cross time zones, make changes to your diet, or take medicines or vaccines to prevent diseases such as malaria or measles.
Purchase travel insurance. Travel insurance is an umbrella term for five different types of coverage: trip cancellation or interruption, medical, loss of baggage, flight delays, and evacuation. For its relatively low cost, travel insurance can help cover expenses if you need medical care while out of the country.
Read the fine print to make sure you know what your coverage includes. To be cautious, look for policies that include coverage for emergency transport or medical evacuation. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, ask about a plan’s coverage and terms before purchasing it, and get the answers to their questions in writing.
When A Medical Emergency During International Travel Requires Transport
SentinelMED is an experienced provider of domestic and international medical transport, evacuation, and repatriation services. Depending on a patient’s needs, we can arrange for a trained medical professional to travel with a patient as a medical escort. In many cases, the assistance of a medical escort can allow a patient to travel on a commercial airline, a cost-effective alternative to transport by air ambulance.
The SentinelMED team understands 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.
