NEWS

In a medical situation, whether at sea or at a port – how do you ensure with confidence, that the medical facility your crew member needs to visit will deliver high quality care?

Perhaps you have previously visited a particular facility and been happy with the care, but has the standard remained the same, or has it deteriorated?

Future Care’s dedicated Global Medical and Security Network comprises of over 91,000 providers that are approved and verified by the Future Care and International SOS teams. Every year millions of dollars are spent not only in maintaining this information but also developing strong relationships with these providers.

The network is unrivalled and when needed our Medical Case Management team can use the network to source the highest quality of medical facilities for your seafarers – with a particular focus on cost containment.

THE NETWORK IN NUMBERS

WHAT IS THE QUALITY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA?

At least once every three years, the Network Services Team conducts in-person or via Desktop visits to verify the quality of medical services so as to ensure that we always steer your vessel to the best available facility for your needs.

The team adhere to strict guidelines and processes for providers, benchmarked against one standardised, global criteria, which looks at:

• Quality: medical level, equipment, reliability
• Credentialing: licence, insurance, diploma, pricing

This information is then compiled into a database which is kept up to date with: pictures, maps, languages spoken, opening times and payment processes. Alongside this, we compile any additional client feedback, helping to maintain the high standard we set.

EXPECTATION VS REALITY

The possibility of sub-standard medical care is the real risk for your seafarers, when visiting a facility. In certain locations online marketing images do not always display the full picture, hence why our information is such an important tool. The images below show the stark contract between reality and expectation.

Online images:

Reality (taken by the Network Services Team)

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR CREW AND SHIPOWNERS?

By simply calling Future Care we can source appropriate medical facilities in both emergency and routine medical situations.

Visiting unknown facilities, especially in an emergency, can be highly stressful for everyone involved, so the network ensures:

• The highest available standard of medical care will always be delivered
• If specialist treatment is needed: the team are able to source specialists in that area, not only saving additional legwork for crew, but potentially also avoiding repatriation for crew members.
• Cost containment: This important part of our assessment criteria ensures that our providers maintain reasonable pricing. Our team performs a regular pricing analysis of 80 of the most common medical events, across key locations within 200+ public and private medical institutions. This is one of the many reasons why our clients choose us, as we can be trusted to source the highest quality of medical care at the best possible price.

Our robust infrastructure also allows us to place Guarantees of Payment when required, ensuring that when your seafarer requires medical care, they will get it.

CASE STUDY – ABDOMINAL PAIN OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA

1. Crew member has abdominal pain
2. Call made to Future Care
3. Future Care remotely diagnoses (always aiming to treat the seafarer onboard, if possible)
4. Shoreside treatment is deemed necessary and so Future Care liaises with the captain and port agent to source a suitable medical facility from the network to provide the treatment.

In the U.S. (and elsewhere)– where medical care can be extremely expensive, our services ensure OPEX savings. View more case studies here.

FIND OUT MORE

Our Global Medical Provider Network ensures not only the best outcome for the seafarer but also save shipowners money, time and stress.

Find out more on our Caring for the Crew page and view client testimonials here.