Seeking Health Care Abroad

Illness Abroad

If an American citizen becomes seriously ill or is injured abroad, a U.S. consular officer can assist in locating appropriate medical services and notifying friends, family, or employer. Additional resources include the clinic where the traveller received pre-travel health advice and immunisations, embassies and consulates of other countries, hotel doctors, credit-card companies, and multinational corporations, which may offer health-care services for their employees. For informational purposes, Travel Health Online (www.tripprep.com/scripts) provides a list of travel medicine providers from around the world. Wherever they are posted, lists of providers are obtained from a variety of sources, and the quality of services and the expertise of the providers are not guaranteed. The International Society of Travel Medicine and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene also have directories of travel clinics available at their websites (www.istm.org and www.astmh.org respectively). Although many of these clinics may only provide pre-travel services, some are located outside the United States and can see ill travellers

The quality of health care from overseas medical centers can be variable, particularly in developing countries. Some foreign hospitals may have out-of-date facilities, while others have highly sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic equipment similar to that found in the United States. Furthermore, physicians in other countries usually require payment in cash or credit card for services rendered rather than bill an insurance company. Travellers with health insurance coverage should carry their insurance card and claim forms and they should obtain copies of all bills and receipts. If one needs financial assistance, the U.S. consular office can assist with transferring funds from the United States. In extreme circumstances, they may even be able to approve small government loans until private funds are available. (See American Citizens Services and Crisis Management website: travel.state.gov/travel/overseas_whoweare.html.) Travellers must be aware, however, that they are responsible for paying all medical expenses they incur while abroad, including evacuation expenses.

In many developing countries, virtually any drug, including antibiotics and antimalarial medications, can be purchased without prescription. Travellers should be advised, however, not to buy these medications unless they are familiar with the products. The quality of these drugs may not meet U.S. standards and they may even be counterfeit or potentially hazardous due to contaminants. In addition, travellers requiring an injection overseas should consider bringing their own injection equipment (see Travel Health Kits section). At the very least, they should ask if the injection equipment is disposable and insist, if possible, that a new needle and syringe be used.

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