Most of the time, illness or injury can be written off as a minor inconvenience at home ,but can spell major trouble on the road. Not only does it mean time lost from fun sightseeing, but there are unique challenges that go hand in hand with finding medical care away from home.
1.Contact your insurance company before you leave home and find out about where you can seek medical care while at your destination. If you are really prepared, (which I always am in my dreams) you should write down the urgent care facilities and hospitals that are covered by insurance and near your hotel. You won’t regret this in the middle of the night.
2. Call your doctor at home for advice. It’s always great to talk to someone you trust when you are worried about your child’s health. Sometimes, your local doctor will be willing to call in a prescription for you while you are on the road and save you the trip to the ER.
3. Choose your care center carefully. Urgent Care centers will often give you quicker, cheaper, and more personalized care than that of a local hospital. Many times Urgent Care facilities are equipped with the same gear as a hospital and you can even find centers that specialize in pediatric care. Whenever possible, I always look for Urgent Care first.
4. If you need to find an emergency room, do a little research. Obviously, if it is truly an emergency, get to the nearest ER without delay. But if you have time, do some calling or talk with hotel staff to find the hospital that will best meet your needs. If you are in a major city, you may find that the smaller hospital in the nearest suburb will have shorter wait times and may offer you more comfort. Large city hospitals often have the most severe emergency cases which means that you may have wait all night to be seen for your ear infection.
5. Create a travel medicine bag. Include all the basic children’s medicines and any special medicines that your children might need. Also, make a list of any prescriptions that you take regularly. If your child has a chronic condition, ask your doctor for a certified letter that explains your child’s needs and care instructions.
6. Don’t be shy about telling medical professionals that you are traveling. Often, doctors and nurses can help travelers by offering medicine and first aid supplies, as well as ensuring that you have medicine that can travel with you.
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It is indeed hard when you are sick and traveling. Making your self healthy is a must. These are very useful tips. Thanks!
We had an emergency illness once when we were in Barcelona and the hotel sent a doctor to our room. Unfortunately, he spoke little English – only French and Spanish. Took a lot of trust that day (plus hand signals/charades) dealing with the doctor and going to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions. Good thing now we have translation apps etc to help.
It’s definitely not as easy to be sick on holidays, and worth being prepared in case it happens.
One tip a nurse gave me was when in doubt, head for a teaching hospital. They tend to give quality care (and often value for money) – though I’m not sure they always score well on the wait times front, so I guess it depends how serious/complicated the problem is, too.
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I got so sick while traveling at 7+ months pregnant. Scary! Luckily, I was with my father who is a physician so he was able to watch me closely to make sure I didn’t need to go to the ER. I got over it in time to board my flight home. I was so glad to have been flying Southwest that trip – it gave me peace of mind to know I wouldn’t have to pay change fees if I had been too sick to fly! Very close call.
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Your suggestion to look for an urgent care first was very smart. Like you mentioned, they often times will be able to help you just as much as a hospital would but at a lower cost. Calling your insurance before you go to an urgent care would be a good way to find one that your insurance will cover.