When you need a complicated heart surgery, your best option for a good outcome may not be your closest hospital.
The same holds true for some forms of cancers, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and complicated orthopedic disorders.
For people who have time to do their research, a medical “center of excellence” may offer the best treatment and potential outcomes for their medical needs. Depending on a person’s insurance coverage, the cost of medical care at a center of excellence may be equivalent to the cost of care at the nearest local or regional hospital.
Insurance providers are willing to let patients select “centers of excellence” for treatment because their success rates, particular for complicated procedures or treatments, are usually higher than at other facilities.
In other instances, patients are traveling outside their hometowns for medical procedures because they’ve learned that the cost of care at a specialty center is lower.
Providers are beginning to refer to this trend as “domestic medical travel,” and according to some experts, it is expected to become even more common in years to come.
Medical Transport: Getting Home After Treatment
One concern for domestic medical travel is if the patient will feel confident and comfortable about traveling after being discharged from the hospital. In many cases, a family member will travel with the patient and assist them on the flight home. However, if there are complications during surgery or treatment, the patient may need more substantive care to get home.
Rebooking flights, managing transportation from the hospital to the airport, and obtaining needed medical equipment or medication may be overwhelming to a friend or family member who is already worried about providing care for a loved one. For patients who are traveling alone, managing all the details can seem daunting.
A medical transport service, such as SentinelMED, can provide peace-of-mind and make sure the patient is safe and comfortable on his or her flight home.
SentinelMED’s team of qualified logistics and medical professionals are able to determine the form or forms of affordable medical transport services that are appropriate for a patient’s medical condition, destination, and language or cultural needs.
SentinelMed manages the process from end-to-end, including speaking to the treating and receiving facility staff, obtaining medical clearances, arranging air and ground travel, and acquiring travel oxygen and necessary medications and equipment. Our medical escorts are doctors or nurses who travel with the patient throughout the journey, and ensure that the receiving health care facility or family member is informed of the patient’s conditon and able to assume his or her care. For a patient who does not have a family member or friend to travel with him, a medical escort can make it possible to receive care at the hospital or medical center of his choice.
At SentinelMED, we understand the complexity of delivering exceptional care to the sick, elderly or injured patient who is away from home and in an unfamiliar environment. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about our services and staff.
