Checklist: Travel for Someone With a Chronic Condition

Excerpted from The Comfort of Home: A Complete Guide for CaregiversTM

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By Maria M. Meyer and Paula Derr, Contributing Writers

  • 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.
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