Medical repatriation
When treatment is better continued at home, the 24/7 medical hotline organises the medically supervised return: to your home or to a country of your choice.
What medical repatriation is, and what it is not
Medical repatriation is the organised, medically supervised return of a patient from the place where an illness or an accident happened to home, or to a country of your choice, so that treatment can continue there. It is one of the four components of the 24/7 medical hotline, next to the medical coordinators, the emergency doctors and the evacuation teams, and it is included in every Veltracon Medical membership.
It is not an ambulance ride, and it is not a medical evacuation, which moves you out of a hazardous situation to the nearest safe place. The return follows once a transfer is medically safe and asks a different question: where should treatment continue, and how do you get there. Veltracon Medical coordinates that journey; the care on the way and at the destination comes from the independent doctors, clinics and transport specialists in our network. We are not a healthcare provider and not an insurance company.
We provide you with unparalleled medical assistance and coordination for emergencies across the globe with local expertise and no language barrier.
Key components:
- Medical Repatriation
- Facilitation of the return to your home or country of your choice for medical care when necessary
- Medical Coordinators
- Our multi-lingual operators coordinate resources & responses swiftly and give instructions on how to perform crucial first aid, while arranging an ambulance
- Emergency Doctors
- At your disposal to give real-time diagnoses and medical advice
How a case runs
This is the order in which the hotline works through a case.
- The callYou, a relative or the treating hospital calls the hotline, which answers around the clock. A medical coordinator opens the case and, where needed, gives first-aid instructions and arranges an ambulance.
- The medical pictureOur emergency doctors give a real-time assessment by phone: is the treatment where you are the right one, and is a transfer medically sensible and safe.
- The decisionThe decision on where treatment continues is yours. The hotline then organises the return: to your home, or to a country of your choice where the right specialists are.
- The transportThe coordinators arrange the medically supervised transport by land, air or sea, matched to your condition. Where an intensive-care flight is needed, our sister brand Shadow ICU arranges air ambulance flights.
- The receiving sideThe coordinators brief the receiving clinic or your doctor at home and pass on what is known about your case: in Switzerland the network behind our concierge medicine, elsewhere the global network of preferred medical specialists.
- AfterwardsIf a diagnosis made abroad should be checked, we arrange a medical second opinion. In the Longevity membership, the records from the case go into your medical history at your request.
Who it is for
For members who live between several countries, travel for business or spend part of the year far from a hospital of the standard they are used to. For families who want a parent or a child brought home under medical supervision rather than treated in an unfamiliar system.
Family members can be added to a membership, so that the same hotline and the same return service apply to a spouse, children or parents.
Coordinated from Zug, in your language
Veltracon Medical coordinates from its headquarters in Zug, with offices in Düsseldorf and Dubai. The coordinators are multilingual: you explain the situation once, in your language, and the hotline speaks with the hospital on site with local expertise.
The network behind the hotline has grown since the Swiss Private Clinics Network was founded in 2005: preferred access to private clinics and specialists in Switzerland, and worldwide the curated network of preferred medical experts that also serves our private doctor service.
How the work is paid for
The 24/7 medical hotline, and with it the supervised return home, is part of the Emergency membership and therefore of Holistic and Longevity as well. Veltracon Medical is an annual membership with an onboarding fee.
The membership pays for the coordination: the hotline, the doctors on the line, the organisation of the transport and the briefing of the receiving side. The Membership Overview draws the line in one sentence: the actual services following a virtual assessment or service proposal are not included in the membership. The transport itself and the treatment at the destination are charged by the provider.
Questions we are asked
What does the 24/7 medical hotline actually do?
It has four components. Medical coordinators are multi-lingual operators who coordinate resources and responses, give instructions for crucial first aid and arrange an ambulance. Emergency doctors give real-time diagnoses and medical advice. Evacuation teams are deployed for safe evacuation from hazardous situations. Medical repatriation covers the return to your home or a country of your choice for medical care when necessary.
What is the difference between medical repatriation and medical evacuation?
A medical evacuation gets you out of a hazardous situation to the nearest safe place where you can be treated. A medical repatriation is the medically supervised return home, or to a country of your choice, once a transfer is medically safe. Both belong to the 24/7 medical hotline in every membership.
Who decides whether I can be repatriated?
Our emergency doctors assess in real time whether a transfer is medically sensible and safe, and in which form. Where treatment continues is your decision and your family’s.
Can I be repatriated to a country other than my home?
Yes. The hotline organises the return to your home or to a country of your choice for medical care, for example to Switzerland, where members have preferred access to private clinics and specialists.
Does Veltracon Medical fly the air ambulance itself?
No. Veltracon Medical coordinates the case and the transport. Where an intensive-care flight is needed, our sister brand Shadow ICU arranges it; the medical professionals on board operate independently.
Is medical repatriation included in every membership?
Yes. It belongs to the 24/7 medical hotline, which is part of the Emergency membership and therefore of Holistic and Longevity as well.
Is the transport itself paid for by the membership?
No. The membership covers the coordination. The transport and the treatment at the destination follow a service proposal and are charged by the provider.
Does the membership replace travel or health insurance?
No. Veltracon Medical is not an insurance company, and membership does not substitute for comprehensive health insurance. The Longevity membership includes an insurance advisory that helps members find a suitable provider.