A Dream Ski Vacation Can Become an International Insurance Nightmare
August 8, 2016
Out of Pocket Costs – A Tough Pill to Swallow
August 10, 2016
Doctors treating patients in the comfort of their hotel room sounds like a convenient alternative especially when an international traveler needs immediate medical care. On the surface, this type of personalized care seems like a blessing. Yet in the end, it can be a costly choice.
A hotel doctor is contacted primarily by the hotel receptionist or concierge. Typical examinations performed during hotel visits may include breathing treatments, cold and flu screenings, IV therapy, blood testing, mobile X-Ray, ultrasound and prescription referrals. The doctor may decide to perform a single service or multiple services.
This personalized type of care sounds great until the patient is asked to provide a credit card and pay for the services up front. Many hotel doctor bills are as high as $4,000-$5,000 per visit when most of the services more realistically run several hundred dollars at an Urgent Care.
Personalized patient care is at the very core of our New Frontier Group services. Our all-inclusive patient support combines our professional expertise of the US health care system with personal touches of patient concern. Starting from initial communications, New Frontier Group is the bridge to the patient’s facility registration, billing confirmation, Urgent Care or hospital treatment, transportation needs and prescription coordination.
It’s important that as peak travel season is just a few months ahead, International Insurance Companies brief their members on the importance of contacting New Frontier Group, especially, if travelers finds themselves in a hotel room, alone and feeling they have nowhere to turn other than the services of a hotel doctor.
New Frontier Group experienced a recent case in which an international patient was treated by a hotel doctor and was given a prescription medication. The patient, who spoke very little English, did not take the medication, only to become more ill in her hotel room. When New Frontier Group was finally asked to assist, a member of our team was able to speak to the patient in her native language, and found that she did not have trust in the hotel doctor since the medication was not labeled.
The patient was extremely weak. Thus, our staff member made immediate arrangements for an ambulance transport, notified the emergency room and provided billing information so the patient was not charged any fees. New Frontier Group’s Concierge Rx Pharmacist also made arrangements to have the patient’s prescriptions filled (with the regulatory identification) and delivered directly to her hotel upon discharge.
New Frontier Group is at your assistance and we urge the internationals to please seek our guidance when an incident occurs to secure trustworthy advice and treatment.
