How to Travel as a Medical Tourist Alone vs Accompanied

How to Travel as a Medical Tourist: Alone vs. Accompanied

Traveling alone or accompanied is an important decision that every medical tourist has to take. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration before proceeding with your upcoming journey. It’s a mixture between emotional comfort and medical requirements.

Within the next paragraphs, you’ll read about all the aspects that will add to your final decision, you’ll find out useful tips and, by the end of this article, you’ll be able to draw the line and choose what’s best for you.

Who should you talk about it?

While the solution belongs to you, it should be thoroughly researched and advised by some specialized people. Being a medical process, you have to take into consideration what people with relevant knowledge and experience have to say regarding your case.

So who should you talk to? Which are the answers you’re looking for?

First of all, make sure to contact the clinic you’re traveling to. Inform the medical center about your medical situation. They know about your upcoming treatment’s specific requirements, so their advice should weight a lot. They will give you an answer based on the aspects stated above. This is the answer you should consider the most.

• There are cases when your health status or the following medical procedure will require someone to accompany you. If this is the case everything should be crystal clear and you should start finding out which formalities have to be completed (here you should get information from both your clinic and medical tourism company), who can travel with you, how to approach your possible companions and so on. The process is a facile one, nothing to worry about.
• There are cases when the factors stated above don’t necessarily require company, but you are always free to take someone with you, if you think that’s what it takes to make you feel safe and comfortable.

Whether your health status requires a trip companion or not, your medical tourism company is entitled to provide you with information regarding the administrative process of traveling with someone else (documentation, accommodation and so on). If you aren’t in the situation when you must have someone by your side, the company will assist you in analyzing if it’s better to be accompanied or not. The factors that will be considered are, but not limited to, your package features, costs, comfort and previous traveling history. Also, the organization will help you with everything you need in order to facilitate your alone or accompanied medical trip.

Treatments and procedures that usually require help from someone who accompanies you in your medical trip

This information will be offered to you by your clinic, but here are some treatments and procedures that may require a travel companion:

• Orthopaedic procedures
• Cardiac procedures
• Addiction treatments
• LASIK procedures
• Organ transplants
• Neurological procedures

Traveling alone pros and cons

If your medical case doesn’t require someone to travel with you, you can safely make this trip alone. Here are some pros and cons of traveling by yourself.

Pros:

• You won’t spend extra money
• You can book your package whenever you have time to travel, you won’t need to worry about your companion’s availability
• If you planned to visit the town you’re getting treatment in, you will be able to organize your visiting itinerary exactly as you wish

Cons:

• If you’re a disabled person, even if most airlines, airports and clinics offer special facilities, it’s always easier having someone to help you
• You might feel lonely
• If you’ve never travelled alone before, this can add some stress to the journey

Traveling accompanied pros and cons

If your medical case doesn’t require someone to travel with you, but you’re still considering to have someone to accompany you, here are some pros and cons of being accompanied.

Pros:

• You will have someone to help you whenever you don’t feel like doing something by yourself
• You will have someone to talk to
• If you’re disabled, even if airports, airlines and clinics provide special facilities, it will be easier to have someone to assist you

Cons:

• You will spend extra money
• You have to consider the other person’s availability when you book your package
• In some of the cases, you’ll need more documentation

How to approach your future companion

If your health status or upcoming treatment requires company, or if you’ve decided that you would feel more comfortable with someone traveling along, you have two possibilities:

• A close one – announce this person about your medical plans and about your decision of having him/her as your travel companion. Give them all the information you received from your clinic and your medical trip company and imply them in the preparation process. Make sure that they know their role and let them now in a timely manner.
• Medical escorts – if you can’t take someone close with you, or if you need specialized companionship (specialized medical attention during your journey), contact a medical escorts company. The people there are properly trained in assisting medical tourists.

In conclusion, do what’s best for your medical and emotional situation. Talk to the specialized entities and do whatever’s right for you.

PlacidWay is a medical tourism company that provides support for patients who don’t know or didn’t decide if they need a companion to travel along with them. Besides treatment packages, the organization is specialized in offering proper advice and professional help in arranging a medical trip from the first to the last step.