LEXINGTON, Ky. --
ARTA teamed up with MedicAlert Foundation International to help
ensure that travelers have their personal information available in
case of an emergency.
According to ARTA
President John Hawks, travelers, particularly since 9/11, have
raised concerns about "the portability of their medical
records."
"We have heard
from our agents' clients about it," he said during a teleconference
with the media. "Clients [want to know] what happens if they are on
the road and they are injured and have to go a hospital, but they
don't have a lot of information with them."
That's where the
nonprofit MedicAlert Foundation International steps in.
"Our mission is
to save and protect lives," said Harbinder Maan, marketing manager
for the foundation, which has some 4 million members. "What this
ARTA initiative allows us to do is to have another avenue to have
our voice heard."
Maan said
travelers sign up and provide MedicAlert with their medical
information, medications they're taking, allergies and other data.
The information is kept confidential.
Travelers keep
the information up to date by calling MedicAlert or by entering
information on its Web site, www.medicalert.org. MedicAlert then sends the
traveler an ID card, ID bracelet or pendant with an identification
number. MedicAlert ID bracelets come in various styles. Some are
priced as high as $300 each.
In the case of an
emergency, medical staff call the phone number on the MedicAlert
item. Using the ID number, MedicAlert then retrieves the traveler's
medical data and provides assistance to the medical staff.
MedicAlert's phones are manned 24/7 and are answered by registered
nurses.
Turlock,
Calif.-based MedicAlert also has offices in Great Britain,
Australia and the Far East, among other places.
"It provides
peace of mind so that if you are unconscious and cannot speak for
yourself, MedicAlert can provide all of that information," Maan
said. "If requested, we can fax the information to the emergency
room and make it available to the doctor."
MedicAlert also
can notify next of kin if necessary to bring them up to date on the
emergency and the hospital where the traveler has been
admitted.
There is a $35
annual fee to join MedicAlert, $20 for renewals. Agents receive a
$5 commission for each person they sign up.
"This is not
something we are going to limit to ARTA agents," said Hawks. Agents
who belong to ASTA and the Cruise Lines International Association
are welcome to join the effort, he said. Similarly, ARTA hopes to
enlist the National Tour Association and its tour operator members,
as well.
"We want to make
this as widespread as possible to have the whole industry get
involved," Hawks said.
To contact
reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].