Checklist: Travel for Someone With a Chronic Condition
By Maria M. Meyer and Paula Derr, Contributing Writers
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- Let the person's primary care doctor know of your travel plans.
- Take more of the person's medications than needed, along with a list of names and dosages.
- Check with the doctor to see if an immunization against Hepatitis A is recommended if traveling to high-risk areas.
- Take a list of all medical conditions.
- Use a Medic-Alert identification bracelet for the person in care.
- Take a copy of his EKG.
- Read his insurance policy before taking the trip to see how "emergency" is defined.
- If medical care is needed during the trip, get copies of all bills to support claims for reimbursement.
- Check into reciprocal agreements between the person's health plan and a provider in the area you will visit.
- If you anticipate the need for medical care, call ahead or ask your HMO to help you make doctor's appointments in the new location.
- Consider buying traveler's insurance. Study the policy terms regarding pre-existing conditions. READ THE FINE PRINT.
- Check that medical equipment is insured for loss or theft.. Consider taking a portable grab bar on the trip.
- Communicate with airline in advance and get any necessary paperwork for doctor to fill out.
- Have extra oxygen prescriptions.
- If there will be a layover arrange for oxygen to be available.
- If traveling to a foreign country, see if the policy allows for medical evacuation.
- Take the person's health insurance card and the HMO's toll free number for travelers.
- Take copies of the pages in the insurance benefits booklet dealing with emergency access.
- Carry a card listing phone numbers of next-of-kin in case of illness during the trip.
- Carry a copy of the Consular Information Sheet of the country you are visiting.
- Write the primary care doctor's number and beeper number on the health insurance card, along with the date of the last tetanus injection.
- If taking a cruise, ask if a doctor with experience in emergency medicine or family practice will be on board.
- If the person in your care has a heart condition, check to make sure your airline carries a defibrillator in the event of cardiac arrest. Most major airlines carry them now.
- Tell the travel agent or airline that you will require a wheelchair and ask to have your request noted on the ticket.
- Call ahead to the airport, bus station or train station to request assistance.
- If a flight is delayed for more than four hours, an airline has a duty to provide a meal that is comparable to the meal offered on the flight -- if asked for by the passenger.
