WHY A 360° APPROACH TO CREW AND GUEST HEALTH AND SECURITY IS SO IMPORTANT
At-sea telemedical services play an important role in ensuring the immediate safety of crew and guests. This should however be seen as just one small element within the much wider context of health onboard.
MedAire continue to see greater complexity of case management and partnering with an organisation like MedAire, who specialise in end-to-end care, can really assist with supporting broader healthcare objectives. This approach is also consistent with increasing expectations from owners, for themselves, their family, their guests and those that work for them.
In response to a changing global health environment the MedAire membership provides you with a complete 360° health and security coverage, giving those onboard, and associated with the program, access to the best possible care.
Although an important piece of the puzzle, ‘emergency at-sea’ medical advice is often just the start point of a positive outcome to a case. The delivery of the ‘next phases’ generally takes significant infrastructure, funds and operational capability. Some of the aspects critical to a positive case outcome are often not considered until during a case, as outlined below.
1. WITHOUT IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO TRUSTED FUNDS, CRITICAL CARE COULD BE DELAYED
In an emergency every second is crucial, and with the possibility of the patient being an Ultra High Net Worth individual – the added pressure and stress cannot be understated. When a medical situation requires shoreside care, MedAire has the ability to place a Guarantee of Payment (GOP) on the vessel’s behalf– multiple times if necessary. In many cases the only way to provide GOP’s is for established networks and relationships to be in place.
We are also prepared for these situations and regularly arrange air ambulances through a maintained network of credentialed aviation providers globally. An air ambulance can cost tens of thousands of dollars each and any delays in confirming payment (for example waiting for an insurer) could be crucial to the patient outcome. Not only do we have the logistics experts in place to coordinate such evacuations, but we have the financial infrastructure to support it. Click to find out how we arranged evacuation and operation for a client in under 24 hours.
Not all service providers have the funds available to place payment on your behalf, so we encourage this check as part of any due diligence.
2. YOU MAY HAVE GAPS IN YOUR SERVICE
When we talk about 360° coverage – we really mean it. The wheel below highlights the breadth of services that MedAire engages to provide your crew and guests with complete health and security coverage. Our 35 years’ experience have shown us that these capabilities are all necessary to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those onboard.
MedAire’s scope of services covers any activities crewmembers partake in, on or around the yacht, ensuring a strong support network for them, wherever they are:
- After a recent breakup a crewmember isn’t sleeping well, which you are concerned may affect the safety of his work. You suggest calling MedAire who provide general recommendations including caffeine avoidance and relaxation strategies. The team also suggest emotional support follow up, to confront the deeper issue.
- Concerned about the security of crewmembers, following recent environmental protests, you check the Maritime Risk Map for any alerts in your area and request further advice from our security team about any additional, necessary precautions to take.
- You are unsure whether the onboard medication and equipment is appropriate for your trip to Komodo, Indonesia, so you schedule time with MedAire’s medical team to consult on the risks. This helps you put in place robust illness and injury prevention programs.
- A crewmember has been taken to a shoreside medical facility, following an incident off the vessel and you need MedAire’s translation service to deliver a message and explain the medical implications to their German-speaking family.
Ultimately, a positive outcome hinges on a combination of factors: prevention through verified intelligence, actionable advice, rapid response, and robust case management capabilities.
3. RELATIONSHIPS WITH INSURERS ALLOW FOR A SMOOTHER EXPERIENCE
MedAire is a reputable, established organisation, with agreements in place with multiple insurance providers.
Known as a Direct Billing Agreement (DBA), these partnerships allow us notify your insurer of a case (on your behalf), verify benefits, pay external providers and then to invoice the insurer directly for any covered services. It reduces administration on your part and allows us to operationally manage the case throughout, providing a more seamless experience for you. A DBA also allows you to focus on the operations of the vessel whilst having confidence that the clinical and patient care is being managed to the same high standard.
If you are a MedAire client, make sure to ask your insurer to contact us about setting up a DBA.
4. MINIMISING RISK OF DATA BREACHES AND REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE
At MedAire, we understand the importance of patient confidentiality. All patients have a right for their medical records to be handled with the appropriate level of care. For an Owner, operator and management there is real risk of reputational and personal damage through a privacy breach.
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When it comes to handling patient information, it is sensible to ensure that your provider can meet globally recognised best practice. We meet numerous standards including:
- ISO 9001:2015 – Quality Management Processes
- ISO/IEC27001:2013 – Information Security Management
- ISO/IEC 27701:2019 – Data privacy
- ISO 13131 – Telehealth
In addition, we ensure that any providers we work with, also adhere to these standards. If, for example, we are referring a patient to a shoreside medical facility, we need to ensure that their quality control structure is as robust as ours, to reduce the possibility of a data breach.
5. LACK OF CONTIGENCY PLANNING MAY AFFECT A PROVIDER’S ABILITY TO DELIVER A SERVICE
As a global health and security organisation, planning for worst case is in our DNA. International SOS’ 2024 Risk Outlook report, rated extreme weather events were voted as the biggest concern for business continuity in the year ahead and such events could foreseeably impact a provider’s ability to deliver services to you.
MedAire’s robust business continuity plans mean we can continue to provide assistance, whatever the situation, with alternative sites of operations, essential equipment and services back up and global offices.
It’s now more important than ever to ask that your medical provider has such business continuity plans in place.
Our service delivery is also scalable as per the client demand - we are relied upon by many of the world’s leading airlines, private jets and superyachts, supporting on average 300 assistance calls a day.
WORLDWIDE REACH HUMAN TOUCH
MedAire’s network is truly global, with access to 4,800 medical professionals through International SOS and the ability to leverage a shoreside network of over 85,000 approved and audited providers.
When you are relying on support, knowing that your chosen provider has a contact at the airport on the small island, or can coordinate a visit from a local nurse to see you, while recovering in hospital, can make all the difference.
Whether you have a skin rash, a throat infection or a more complex medical issue – trust that we have the expertise to support you, wherever, whenever, and importantly through the duration of the case or until you are safely home. Even more so today our job is to help “explorers” find out what is over the horizon; and to help return them safely to their families and friends. We do that through passionate people and proven capabilities.
Speak to the MedAire team