How Travel Medical Insurance Helps with International Medical Evacuation

Travelling abroad and in need of medical evacuation? At such times, a travel medical insurance can be very beneficial, find out how:  

When away from home for a medical treatment, you can never predict the time for a medical emergency to occur! The situation can be worse if you don’t get timely medical evacuation services.

So, it is important that you are covered by a travel medical insurance!

How Travel Medical Insurance Helps You

A travel insurance policy comes with the option of applying for emergency medical evacuations. The services include air evacuation to home from a foreign location, and to a nearby health center or hospital. However, when you choose a policy for you, you should pay for enough coverage.

A complete travel medical policy will cover:

ü  Domestic as well as international medical evacuation

ü  All your emergency transportation costs while traveling back home after your medical treatment abroad

ü  Full risk coverage even if you’re traveling in a fully medically-equipped aircraft

ü  Repatriation to a health center or hospital of your preference

ü  Medical transportation costs while traveling to home from the hospital

 24 Hour Medical Assistance

Most travel medical insurance providers run 24X7 medical help lines to help people in emergency situations. They also help with medical and dental referrals, including sending out medicines. If you have taken an ‘On Call’ policy, you’ll be provided air medical evacuation for a distance of over 50 miles from home. These policies make travel arrangements for members as well as family members and companions!

How to Choose the Right Insurance?

You can opt for an ordinary travel insurance if you are traveling to a chosen country. However, if you are an expatriate, an international medical insurance plan will be the better option. These plans have a longer duration compared to simple plans and come with guaranteed renew ability. 

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Things You Should Know About Your Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Company

Although non-emergency medical transportation services are designed to address your mobility issues, choosing the right company will make the actual difference. Read on to know what you should know about your commercial service provider!

Most of us are aware of the benefits of professional non-emergency medical transport services. However, not many people know that there are so many things to keep in mind when choosing a commercial provider! All those who want to make life easier ought to develop a better understanding towards these services.

Here is what you should know about your non-emergency medical transportation company: 

The Level of Service Quality

The first thing to observe is the quality of service your company provides the patients with. Since you would always want to hire a reliable provider, make sure:

• They don’t deploy independent drivers or taxi services to transport patients
• The company follows a proper credentialing process while hiring drivers and selecting vehicles

License and Insurance

You should not be hesitant to ask your providers to show you their commercial service license. Another important thing is insurance coverage; make sure the company is insured and capable of compensating any damage/loss in case if things go wrong. 

Many good companies even provide patients with free transportation for appointments and cover expenses through insurance.

A Sense of Responsibility

Opt for a company that can make medical transportation a safe and comfortable process for you. You can consider asking for references in your locality and know the reputation of the company. Ask if they provide doctors, paramedics and medical escorts for professional-level monitoring within the flight. 

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What Should You Expect From Non-Emergency Medical Air Transport

Sometimes, patients who are stable but are unable to travel by conventional means are required to use non emergency medical transportation services owing to their mobility issues, oxygen requirements and ease of travel. But before you contact any non emergency medical air transport company, get to know what you should expect from their services.

Medical transportation has been evolving rapidly to meet even the most unexpected demands of patients with perfect ease. In fact, even the remotest of places have gained 24 hour access to emergency and non-emergency medical air transport services today. Medical attendants along with the entire crew on-board are qualified to provide required medical assistance to patients on board and also on ground.

How Non-Emergency Medical Air Transport Services Operate

In most areas, air ambulance services operate in city or county and also as independent operators. All the air medical transport companies are required to be fully licensed and insured and must meet the state federal and certification requirements.  

Every service provider is expected to maintain a team of fully trained flight attendants who are dedicated to work towards the safety of every patient. The fight crew should include a minimum of one pilot, a well qualified paramedic along with a critical care nurse.

Types of Aircraft Used

Most of the non-emergency medical transportation companies make use of a wide range of aircrafts for the purpose of safely transporting medical patients to formal medical care units. The size of the airplane to be used is generally decided upon the location and condition of the patient.

Most cabins inside the plane are outfitted with the latest medical facilities, which allow patients to be conveniently transported to desired locations even during extreme weather conditions and for emergency relocation of critical patients in times of need.

Levels of Medical Air Transportation

Typically, there are three levels of medical air transportation services namely, basic life support, advanced support and lastly, critical care. These levels are indicative of the level of care, use of medical equipments and level of trained medical staff required by the patient while travelling.  

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Before You Pay for Long Distance Medical Transportation

Medical Transportation can be broadly classified into two categories non-emergency and emergency.

Medical transportation is an essential part of the health services industry. A patient who is not in an emergency situation should he ideally be transported comfortably, accompanied by caring attendants by a cost effective service company. Medical transportation is required to transport patients, supplies and equipment from one place to another. Before signing up for a long distance medical transportation the following factors should be kept in mind.

1. Distance of Travel

The most important factor that should be kept in mind while making arrangements is the distance. Factors like comfort level of the loved one or family member who is being transported will depend on this.

2. Decide Between Ground or Air Transportation

Ground transportation is much cheaper than air. Comparison of the time difference between the two compared to the needs of the family member to be transported should be done. An important question to ask is whether the person to be transported will be able to travel for a longer time or not.

3. Take a doctor’s advice

It is always suggested to take the doctor into confidence when making travel arrangements. He will be able to advise best whether the patient is ready to travel for long durations of time or not. Work out a schedule with transport manager and consider all options carefully.

4. Analyze

Details of various companies should be compared before hiring one. Factors like cost, services, fleet of vehicles and equipments should be compared in depth. Some companies have fancy websites, but in reality fail to deliver what they promise.  It should be ensured that the company will only charge the amount on the estimate and there are no hidden charges.

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