A lot of people might have wondered how to handle any medical needs that arise or are ongoing while on a road trip. The answer to this will depend on the situation, of course. For example, if you only need emergency care, that requires different methods than managing a chronic condition that flares up. Let’s take a look at some tips for finding road trip medical care.
Talk to Your Physician
First things first – you’ll need to have a conversation with you or your child’s doctor to ensure there aren’t any medical reasons keeping you from travel and whether or not there are any precautions you need to take while on your trip.
Take Documents
It’s recommended that you always keep a copy of your medical documents – in digital form or a hard copy. You don’t want to end up getting pediatric physical therapy in Chicago for your child and not be able to show the therapist what’s been going on. You need to have documentation of things like vaccinations, allergies, prescriptions, x-rays, and any known medical issues.
Go Online
If you know you’ll be gone, but find that you need to talk to someone when you’re on the road, go online. You can see a general practitioner or even talk to an online therapist these days. Many practitioners are now offering online services and there are even apps you can use for this purpose.
Medjet
This has to do with making sure you’re covered. Travel insurance means that no matter where you are or what doctors you see or medical treatments you receive, you’re covered. An example of this insurance, MedJet, even means that if you need to be helicoptered or flown to a medical facility from remote locations, you’re covered. This is something you really shouldn’t leave home without.
K Health
When considering online or virtual doctor visits, K Health is an app that allows you to have lab work done when needed, get prescriptions, and visit a doctor. Subscriptions to this service are affordable, meaning that you don’t need to worry about the cost of seeing a doctor when your insurance doesn’t have anyone in the network wherever you might be.
Online Search Tools
When you’re on the road and you need to have an online visit with a practitioner, you may wonder how to find one in your area. In cases like this, search tools like Zocdoc work well. They can assist you with locating a doctor in the area that will accept whatever insurance you might have.
If you happen to be in need of a dentist, try looking at your dental insurance’s website to see if they have a nationwide list of providers. Other than that, a quick Google search can give you results of dentists in the area that offer emergency appointments.
Even when you’re on the road and in remote locations, it’s totally possible to remain healthy and see a doctor, dentist, or therapist when you need to. This is true no matter where you are or how long you’ll be gone. All that you need to do is to ensure that you’ve made the appropriate preparations, are aware of the resources you have at your fingertips and are willing to ask for a bit of help when you’re in need of it. It can be easy to lose yourself in the other preparations for a road trip – packing, route planning, hotel reservations, and the like. However, you should never put your health on the back burner, even for an epic road trip.
