These three patients were all fit young people with no previous medical illnesses who had no reason to believe that they would need hospital care during their vacation. That is the whole point about insurance - it is there to help you when the unexpected happens.
Your vacation is coming up it's all so exciting you can hardly sit still. Passports found and checked flights booked and confirmed hotels selected and reservations made clothes chosen and packed travelers checks purchased arrangements made for friends to feed the dog and check your house. Is there anything you have forgotten? What about Travel Insurance?Oh sure travel insurance that's dull stuff do you really need that?
You've never lost a bag and you have a good feeling about things there is no need for Travel Insurance.WRONG! There is a very definite need for Travel Insurance. Just because you have good Insurance coverage when you are at home that does not mean you have good coverage when overseas.Travel Insurance covers many eventualities. If your flight is cancelled and you are stranded or if your bag is missing and you are in a strange place without even a toothbrush the insurance will help to defray your expenses.
These however are not the most important or expensive eventualities that are covered. The most important is Health Care Insurance for you for while you are out of the country. British Canadians Australians and other travelers from countries with universal government schemes are more negligent about purchasing this type of insurance than are Americans or Europeans. These plans with all their faults are always available so they do not think much about additional health coverage.
This is spite of the fact that government plans have no legs at all and are of almost no help when you away from home. The concept of the &lsquouninsured patient&rdquo is not part of the experience of many travelers. Neither is the phenomenon of patients being turned away from hospitals as they had no insurance or could not document their coverage. But if you are taken ill or injured in a foreign country and you do not have travel insurance you are an uninsured patient and may have trouble getting care.
Robert Jackson was looking forward to his visit to South East Asia. He spent several months planning his trip. He read the history of the countries that he would visit and created a demanding schedule for himself. He was planning to travel to the less visited areas in Northern Thailand and visit as many of the holy sites as he could and cram into his schedule. He was not planning on visiting the Intensive Care Unit of the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center he also was not planning on spending over forty-eight hours unconscious and he certainly was not planning on multiple surgeries or the intensive rehabilitation he ended up receiving.
In spite of the fact that he was not too agile and had not ridden a motor-bike in over ten years he decided to rent a motor bike and ride around the back roads in Thailand. A truck that he was following too closely suddenly pressed his brakes. Robert flew through the air and landed on his face in the road.Fortunately he was transported into the city quickly and brought to the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center a tertiary care JCI Accredited facility and admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care unit as he was unconscious.His family was contacted and consent for treatment obtained.
They were not aware if Robert had any Health Insurance and were reluctant to guarantee payment for the care. In spite of this he received excellent care and is now on his way to full recovery after multiple surgeries for his facial fractures and skin grafting to other wounds. He was obliged to take out a considerable bank loan to cover his care.Melanie Albert was working as a volunteer in a children's care home in Cambodia.
After eating a very spicy dinner one evening she started to have abdominal pain. Thinking it was indigestion she ignored the pain initially but by the following morning realized that this might be something more serious than an upset stomach. She had not obtained any insurance when she left home and naively thought that her patents policy would cover her medical expenses while out of the country. After been seen in the clinic she was flown to Bangkok and admitted to the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center.
A diagnosis of Appendicitis was made and she had an operation on the same day. Her family came out to be with her and was able to have funds transferred to cover the cost of her care.She was particularly fortunate as she had been able to get to Bangkok on a commercial flight. If she had needed to have a special air-ambulance the cost would have been enormous. One of the features that is always included in Travel Insurance is Evacuation Insurance that covers the cost of you being transported to a good medical center close to your accident or where you were taken ill.
It also covers the expense of getting you home after treatment has reached that point that you are ready to travel. Another patient needed to be transported back to Britain after Surgery and Intensive Care treatment for a collapsed lung which had happened quite spontaneously and without warning. He needed a nurse and a doctor to travel with him as he was taking anti-coagulants and there was the possibility that he might need extra oxygen on the flight.
He was flown from Bangkok to Frankfurt and from there to Manchester. He traveled Business class with his two attendants. Luckily he had good coverage for this very expensive journey.These three patients were all fit young people with no previous medical illnesses who had no reason to believe that they would need hospital care during their vacation. That is the whole point about insurance - it is there to help you when the unexpected happens.
Travel Insurance is surprisingly inexpensive and for a young person may be as little as $40 for a three week vacation. I would suggest that you purchase this before you leave home. The Information Center that the insurer provides can also be very useful to you as they will be able to direct you to the best Medical facility wherever you are in the world. Whatever insurance you have keep the details of the policy and call center number with you on your person at all times.
I hope you have a wonderful trip and do not need any medical services but it is best to plan for all eventualities.
Dr. Michael Moreton is the International Medical Coordinator at the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center. He may be reached at Moreton@bgh.co.thDr. Michael Moreton graduated from Medical School in the UK he then trained in Ob/Gyn in the McGill program in Montreal. He practised in Ontario and Florida before going to China in 1997. In his ten years there he was the founding Ob in the first western style Maternity unit in China and later opened another in Shanghai. He is now the International Medical Coordinator at the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center in Thailand. Moreton@bgh.co.th
