The last thing on our mind when we travel is seeking medical care while traveling. Nobody wants to miss out on a vacation or trade a sightseeing opportunity for a trip to the emergency. Sadly, sometimes it may be necessary. We may ask ourselves: Where to go; how to pay; what does my insurance cover; will I be able to overcome language barriers. Deciding whether to cut a trip short to come home or even determining whether or not it is safe to travel are also key things to consider. Things are certainly different in a foreign country and we must adapt.
When medical issues arise, take a step back and think logically. Should you wait a bit or do you have to go see a doctor immediately certainly depends on your symptoms. If you are unsure, your hotel may have access to a medic who could at least take some vitals and give advice. If you’ve had an accident, which may get worse, don’t neglect care. You certainly don’t want to see infection setting in with any scrapes or cuts, especially in hot humid climates or from ocean water or even contaminated pool water.
Choosing a medical clinic
On our recent trip to Cozumel, we had to cut our vacation short due to a medical emergency. My husband needed to get medical attention and waiting or delaying was not an option. The first thing we needed to do was to choose a clinic. We went directly to our trusted smartphone and looked up clinics on the web. A list of medical facilities came up with other traveler’s reviews. We read these to guide us towards a good clinic that could also provide services in English. We opted to go to a 24-hour urgent care facility located in San Miguel de Cozumel near the airport. Luckily we had a car, which made seeking medical help easier.
Getting medical care
Arriving at the Médica San Miguel, we parked in the free parking lot across from the clinic. We were greeted with courtesy and compassion. Furthermore, we were really impressed with the level of care we got in Mexico and at how well the staff worked as a team.
My husband was seen promptly and was admitted immediately even though we forgot to bring his passport. The paper work came later, as did the payment. I remember being at the emergency waiting to be seen at a US hospital and having to talk to the billing department and pay before anyone would see me. Another time (when we were living in Canada) after waiting for hours at a hospital’s emergency, I was told that I should just go back home, since I wouldn’t be seen until the next morning!
After being discharged we thought we would be able to continue our vacation but the following day the problem had returned and my husband needed further treatment. We ended up back in the emergency and the same doctor seeing us again agreed with us that it would be prudent to interrupt our trip and return home. He also made sure that we weren’t charged for the second visit, Imagine! The trip to the emergency at the hospital ended up costing us a few hundred dollars; the same thing in the US would have likely been in the range of thousands of dollars and never mind getting a free second visit!
Communication
My husband and I are not fluent in Spanish, but we managed to communicate with the medical staff using hand gestures and a combination of English and the little Spanish we knew. The friendly staff also tried to communicate with us in English and there was an English-speaking attendant, which was very helpful. Keep in mind that this may not be the case everywhere; you may have to rely on translation services on your smartphone like Google Translate or even draw or use pictograms.
Travel medical insurance
We generally have not taken medical insurance for traveling as we have travel cancellation and interruption with our credit card. Also, our health insurance has a global option that allows us to submit claims for foreign services. Our largest expense was the travel back home, which was purchased as a one-way last minute full fare ticket. We hope that this may be covered by our trip interruption coverage.
5 steps for getting medical care while traveling
- See if your hotel has a doctor or ask the concierge for local clinics. You can also look online to find one and be sure to check reviews.
- Bring all pertinent documentation and ids (including your passport).
- Bring any medication you are taking and make sure you communicate any allergies you may have.
- Take a credit card to pay for services rendered. Some places have direct pay agreements with insurance companies but be prepared to pay first and claim later.
- Get proof of treatment (in the form of an itemized invoice and release form) for your insurance claim when you get home.
5 things to consider before traveling abroad
- Get travel insurance, and check what is covered. Medical coverage is rarely offered by credit cards.
- Check with your health insurance to see if you have global medical coverage and understand how it works. Have the contact information handy.
- Bring the original or a copy of your prescriptions, your vaccination book, and a list of any allergies.
- Pack a first-aid kit and add extra prescription medication in case you do have to extend your stay for any reason.
- Take photos of any pertinent medical documents in case you do need to seek medical care while traveling.
A silver lining
We went to Cozumel for a week of scuba diving and didn’t even get in the water once before having to interrupt our vacation and return home. We contacted the hotel and explained why we had to leave and they gave us a refund. Kudos and a huge thank you to the Iberostar Cozumel for being so nice about the situation. We will definitely be going back and will be staying with them again.
The rental car operator (Hertz) also showed compassion and only charged us for the two days we had our car instead of the week, not some inflated daily rate. The dive operator (Dressel Divers) also gave us a voucher for our dives which we can redeem any time over the next 5 years. American Airlines even let us reuse our return points flight within a year at no charge (although, we did have to buy last minute full fare tickets! Ouch!). This ordeal not only showed us the importance of having travel insurance, but also that there is still a lot of kindness and compassion left in this world.
It is possible that we will get some reimbursement for the flights for a travel interruption event with our credit card, although at this point we are mostly just happy to be home and to be somewhat back to normal. We are still seeing local doctors and doing more tests to ensure we are in shape for our next travel adventure. Your thoughts and well wishes are always appreciated.
(Update Dec. 15: Thankfully, my husband is doing much better.)
Conclusion
We just have been approved for a new travel rewards credit card, the famous Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This cards offers extra insurance including medical evacuation as well as a better travel interruption and cancellation policy. We hate to imagine how different this situation may have been had we been on the other side of the world. Taking a quick flight from Cozumel to Miami is one thing, but getting on long flight(s) while sick could be a different story altogether.
If you really don’t feel well, please do not ignore your symptoms and do seek medical attention when you need it. It’s always possible to redo a vacation, but if something serious happens to you it can have lasting or even drastic consequences. This is especially true of any scuba diving vacation. The stresses on the body while diving are increased and the consequences of anything happening while deep underwater and far from shore can be devastating. For us, Cozumel isn’t going anywhere and we expect the scuba diving to be as spectacular as always when we go back at a future date.
Happy and safe (and healthy) travels!
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