Thursday, January 7, 2010

Travel: Finding Medical Help!

Oh my gosh! You worst fears! Here you are in another country and you are sick!


Well, you'll be able to whip out your laptop and find good old Lucy's Blog and look up how to find a doctor in a foreign country!


Be prepared before you travel and save yourself some hassel. Dick and I never travel without our laptop, but, last year when we went to the Barrett Jackson Auction, we didn't bother to take it with us to Vegas, because we knew we just wouldn't have time to use it. Las Vegas is one thing, but if you're going to north Timbucktoo and you don't speak the language, you better go prepared!


Your Embassy or Consulate can provide you with a list of appropriate doctors and hospitals in their region. Before you travel, look up the phone numbers and locations for those in the areas you are visiting.


Our Canadian Government also recommends purchasing travel insurance and frankly, if you don't you are an idiot to travel without it. 
If you have existing medical insurance, check to make sure it will cover you in the country you are visiting. For instance: our wonderful Canadian Health Insurance that everyone is so envious of, will cover my having a heart attack in Florida, but only up to what the same service would cost here in Ontario. (If a hospital room was $200.00 a day here and $500.00 in Florida, they would pay the $200.00 and I would have to cough up the rest.) We are lucky that our work coverage will pay most of the rest.

CAA and AAA and likely BCAA all have travel insurance you can buy. Your bank as well and also the up and coming AARP or in Canada CARP. 






Who wants to worry about this kind of stuff, I know! But better safe than sorry!


There's a list of Canadian Offices abroad, by country, can be found at the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada website.




Good Links:


www.travel.gc.ca
http://www.caasco.com/
http://www.aaa.com




3 comments:

  1. Good advice and love the cartoon!

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  2. Thanks for the tips, Lucy. My, that arm looks a little crisp!

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  3. Good tips--I will keep that in mind if I ever get my nerve back to ride on an airplane again.

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I can only be better from your comments...thanks!