Archive for January, 2011

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Travel Bulletin Egypt: Stay or Go?

Monday, January 31st, 2011 by

The following advice was provided by Altegrity Risk International, a provider of high-quality investigative, analytic, consulting and security services to business around the world:

At the moment, it is recommended that travelers follow the state department advisories, which advise against travel to Egypt.   So far the state department is offering voluntary evacuations but has not begun mandatory evacuations.  Clients of ARI are advised to only evacuate if they can safely do so; and if they can’t, all foreign nationals should obey the curfew and stay indoors if possible.  There have already been reports of chaos at the Cairo airport, so foreign nationals should not head to the airport unless they have already secured a safe route to the airport and a flight out of the country, otherwise it is best to sit tight. 

We will post updates as they become available; the latest advisories from the U.S. State Department can be found on their website: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1108.html.

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Travel Bulletin Egypt: Emergency Medical Care Available

Monday, January 31st, 2011 by

HTH sources in Egypt indicate that private hospitals in Cairo and Alexandria remain open and comparatively well-supplied at the moment.  Many of them are focusing on emergency cases and inpatient care, so routine scheduled outpatient care may not currently be available.

Public hospitals are likely to be operating beyond normal capacity during times of crisis, as the ongoing demonstrations have left over 100 dead and scores of others injured and requiring medical attention.

Response services for emergency situations is poor, especially in Cairo and Alexandria, as well as other major cities where ambulances are subject to significant traffic congestion. The current situation has resulted in reduced traffic on the roads, but response times will, however, be affected by the increase in demand, especially during periods of intense rioting.

Most private physicians in Cairo and Alexandria have closed their practices today, although many are still seeing emergency patients with limited hours at private hospitals.

Starting today, the U.S. Department of State is assisting U.S. citizens in coordinating “transportation to safehaven locations in Europe” on a reimbursement basis. According to the U.S. Government, “priority will be given to persons with medical emergencies or severe medical conditions.”  Interested U.S. Citizens should contact the U.S. Department of State by calling +1.202.501.4444 and be prepared with their name, age, place of birth, U.S. passport number and any special medical needs.

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What To Do When Your “Net” Breaks

Friday, January 28th, 2011 by

Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak has pulled the plug on the Internet and on most wireless and SMS service.  This is a pretty drastic step for a government to take and luckily, fairly rare.  However, it made me think that we should point out the dangers of being over-reliant on services that may not be available.

There are lots of pieces of information that might be important to you while traveling far from home – personal health information (allergies, prescription medications), identification documents, emergency numbers, itinerary details, etc.  The always-on aspect of the Internet has lulled us into believing that we can always rely on it.  While you may not be in a country trying to suppress political views or protest event details, you may often find yourself away from a reliable connection to the Internet or phone service.  Make a point to capture the important information you need in a format that doesn’t need a connection – type it in as a note on your smartphone, download an app that helps to organize this information and stores it locally, or, God forbid, write it all down on a piece of paper (remember that option?).

For apps that might help in these situations see 15 Best Note Applications for iPhone or The Best Note-Taking Apps (includes Android apps).

What else can you think of that you might want to have at your fingertips on a trip?  Let us know.

Photo by Frame Maker

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Posted in Destinations, Technology, Travel Health & Safety iPhone Apps | Comments »

Recent Travel Newslinks

Friday, January 28th, 2011 by

There’s a lot going on in the world of travel this week – hopefully at least one of these tips, ratings or apps will help make planning for your next trip a little easier.

Tips and Trends

Crisis in Tunisia proves Twitter is the best, and worst, way to follow breaking news. 

Flight Canceled? How to Get a Cot, Food, a Shower and the Fastest Flight Out.

C’est la Fee: New Hassles for Travelers – “Travelers now face higher transaction fees and more-aggressive fraud detection systems when they use their credit and debit cards abroad.” 

Delta Lets Passengers Name a Price for Bumping

Draining a Snow Globe for Flight – Snow globe collectors find a way around the TSA’s ban 

Imagine Volunteering at Feynan EcoLodge – A career break for those who need a break from technology and social networking.

Ratings

New lists from Trip Advisor help travelers make better decisions relating to flight plans and accommodations:
Airline rating system

Dirties hotels in the world

Best hotels in the world

Apps

New Initiative Harnesses Smartphones to Help Keep Heart Attack Victims Alive

Free iPhone Apps Helping Huffington Post Blogger Get through China

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Road Safety Targeted in Ten Countries Over Five Years

Thursday, January 27th, 2011 by

What’s on track to become a bigger killer than malaria? Vehicular traffic. Unless trends are reversed, cars and trucks will kill 1.9 million people worldwide annually by 2020. To combat this deadly threat, Bloomberg Philanthropies has funded a five-year initiative in Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and Viet Nam where statistics are increasingly grim. A consortium that includes the World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University and the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) is charged with engaging governments and NGOs to promote more responsible driver behavior, trauma care and data collection in each of these countries. Efforts are just getting underway and will continue through 2014. We’ll dig deeper into this topic by  taking a closer look at ASIRT and its activities in one of our next posts.

Photo by black_wall.

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Posted in Destinations, Road Safety | 2 Comments »

Protests Roil Capitals: Visits to Cairo, Tirana, Beirut and Tunis Pose Danger

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 by

Violent protests have erupted across the Mediterranean as simmering discontent among the populace has boiled over to threaten those in power. Today’s headlines tell the story—

The revolution in Tunisia is just ten days old, and the capital city is still on edge as power is brokered among the remaining politicians. The troubles in Beirut and Tirana can be traced to longstanding political struggles, but the uprising in Tunis has sparked the Cairo demonstrations. Observers warn that citizens of other Arab capitals may be emboldened to act as social media help spread the indignation and fervor.

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Buyers Beware: Patients Can Face Sky-high Costs outside the U.S.

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 by

In sharp contrast to conventional wisdom, there are a number of places outside the U.S. where the cost of medical care can be higher than for the same care at home.  In my role as Medical Director for HTH Worldwide, I see proposed treatment plans and cost estimates that would cause patients without travel health insurance serious financial pain. For example,

  • Surgeon’s fee to remove a thyroid gland in China at $9,000.  The same procedure would cost approximately $1,000 in the U.S., with insurance discounts.
  • Laparoscopic pelvic surgery in South America in the amount of $13,000. Cost is around $7,000 in the U.S. with insurance discounts.
  • Psychotherapy in England may cost as much as $200 per hour.  The average therapist in the U.S. would be happy with half that amount.

In addition, many foreign practitioners generate supplemental income by selling prescription medications directly to patients, and think nothing of recommending more expensive alternatives over older, proven therapies.  Examples include new antibiotics and tumor necrosis factor blocker medications such as Humira and Enbrel.

Unless travelers protect themselves by purchasing travel health insurance, they will be faced with paying the quoted rate or footing the bill for evacuation to the U.S. for tens of thousands of dollars. Most major U.S. insurers provide spotty coverage for healthcare services obtained while visiting foreign lands—and sometimes none at all.  Travel health insurance provides not only coverage, but also a watchful eye to insure that patients receive only effective, evidence-based treatment.

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Posted in Comparative Health Care, Global Medicine, Health Insurance | 1 Comment »

Malaria: If it can happen to George Clooney – it can happen to you.

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 by

The news in Hollywood over the weekend was George Clooney’s recent bout with malaria.  After a visit to the Sudan, he contracted this illness for the second time.  His bad fortune (or was it negligence?) serves as a reminder to us all. Even experienced travelers, taking precautions to avoid this illness (and other mosquito borne illnesses) are not guaranteed protection from it.  As we recently shared, a survey of international airline passengers at Boston’s Logan Airport shows that many are unprepared for the health risks they can encounter in their destination country.  According to the survey, only 20% of those traveling to countries where malaria is endemic were carrying a prescription anti-malarial drug.

If you are interested in protecting yourself from a disease that claims approximately one million lives a year, view this advice from Frank Gillingham, MD or check out the malaria page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Photo by United Nations Photo.

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Traveling Abroad with Prescriptions: It May Not Be As Easy As You Think

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 by

Yesterday, The New York Times ran an article, Before Trip, Make Plans for a Dearth of Medicine, recounting the writer’s frustration with trying to get a prescription refilled in Puerto Rico. This article provides important reminders: things can go wrong, your trip can last longer than you expect, and things that can be handled with a simple phone call in the U.S. can become a major headache in another country.  

Many travelers are so used to taking their prescriptions that they only fret about forgetting to pack them when going on a trip. They don’t consider that they might lose or run out of their medicine (and if so, that the pharmacies may not accept called or faxed in orders from a U.S. doctor) or that their prescription could be for a drug that is illegal or unavailable in the country they are visiting. 

The U.S. Department of State offers advice for travelers going abroad with preexisting medical problems.  Travelers with prescriptions (including eyeglasses/contacts, allergy medicines, and birth control pills) should follow these guidelines to prepare before their trip:

  • Carry a letter from their doctor describing the medical condition and any prescription medication, including the generic names of prescribed drugs
  • Medications carried abroad should be left in their original containers and clearly labeled
  • Check with the foreign embassy of the country to make sure any required medications are not considered illegal in that country

Frank Gillingham, MD, a frequent contributor to HTB, provides some additional advice for those traveling with prescriptions in his Health and Safety Abroad series.

Do you need assistance finding out what your prescription is called or how it is prepared in another country?  HTH Worldwide  built, maintains and annually updates an international database of over 6,200 brand names for nearly 400 compounds in 28 of the most frequently visited countries around the world. This information, along with information on finding pharmacies and profiled doctors, is available to anyone covered by an HTH Worldwide health plan or through an mPassport subscription or downloadable iPhone apps. 

Photo by Smabs Sputzer.

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Posted in Medical Conditions, Travel Tips | Comments »

Recent Travel Newslinks

Friday, January 14th, 2011 by

Like gadgets? Like to travel? You’ll like today’s links.

Yesterday, The New York Times blog “Gadgetwise” posted App Picks from the Times’s Travel Columnist.  The author briefly reviews five Droid apps that help travelers manage the basic logistics of traveling – arrangements, roaming charges, translations, etc. (If she was covering iPhone apps, mPassport, the mobile medical travel companion, certainly should have made the list.)

If you or someone you know is singing the winter blues, drown them out with Valkee’s bright light headset – but keep in mind “it’s not used for listening to music. It’s used for bright light therapy.”  

Readers heading to a developing country, a relief situation, or those who are just into hiking and sports check out “the pumpkin.” It turns into a carriage – for clean water.

Backpackers and other travelers who have questions about an upcoming trip should check out this post from foXnoMad covering five questions commonly asked by novices. And if you are looking for an answer to his fifth question on travel insurance, check out hthtravelinsurance.com.   

The Wall Street Journal published their 2010 airline rankings this week – find out if bigger is better in this post.

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