Here is a quick check-list of things you should pack / note before you travel for medical treatment abroad:
- Passport and visa (Patient must be traveling on medical visa)
- Air tickets
- Fit to fly certificate, if patient needs wheelchair or stretcher.
- MEDIF Form. Passengers traveling on medical visa are generally required to submit a Medical Information Form (MEDIF) to the airlines for flying approval, specially if there is a probability of the patient requiring oxygen support, wheel-chair etc. in flight. Please check with your airlines about the MEDIF form (all airlines have their formats) and complete the process.
- Medical reports- Get all prescriptions, discharge summaries, investigation reports etc.
- Slides of biopsies, films of X-ray, MRIs etc if applicable.
- Contact number and address of local person at destination noted in paper. Don’t depend only mobile phone, battery may die down.
- Clothes- Please check local weather before packing. Better to travel light.
- Spices- Pack some essential spices of your country. For extended travel, you can get home food cooked, it is difficult for most people to survive on hotel food for long. And most guest houses have kitchen where you can cook or get food cooked.
- Dollars- Even if you plan on paying by card, it is a good idea to have some cash in dollars.
- Souvenirs- If you want to make some friends in hospitals and hotels, you may like to pack some small presents / souvenirs/local food item from your country. It need not be anything expensive, just enough to show gratitude.