travel.gc.ca: Help Your Clients Prepare for a Healthy Trip Abroad

Canadians love to travel, but are they aware that going abroad with limited or no travel insurance can lead to high and unexpected costs? Buying travel insurance is even more important than booking a hotel or getting a visa. The cost of insurance is minimal when compared to fees for hospitalization or medical treatment, and a single accident could result in years of debt if a traveller is uninsured. Share the following travel health tips with your clients before they leave Canada, so they can enjoy a hassle-free trip.

Urge your clients to schedule an individual health assessment from a travel health clinic or health care provider at least six weeks before departure.  Certain destinations require vaccines and preventive prescriptions, such as anti-malarial medication. Travellers should bring to the health assessment a copy of their personal immunization record, if available. A list of travel health clinics across Canada can be found on the Public Health Agency of Canada website. Travellers should consult their health care provider if they’re not feeling well before their trip to discuss postponing their departure and to help prevent a health emergency abroad. 

Encourage your clients to purchase travel health insurance that covers illness, injury and medical evacuation. Canadian travellers should not rely on their provincial or territorial health plan to cover costs if they get sick or are injured while abroad. Provincial or territorial health plans may cover only part, if any, of the bill and will not pay up front. Medical evacuations from abroad are costly. Even if your clients are taking a day trip to the United States, purchasing the best travel health insurance they can afford is the key to avoiding expensive medical bills. Travellers should always carry proof of their insurance coverage when travelling and leave a copy of their insurer’s contact information with relatives or friends in Canada. Consult the Travel insurance page at travel.gc.ca with your clients to help them understand the issues  and to select a suitable plan.

Canadian travellers should carry proof of their need for any prescription drugs. Requirements vary from country to country (e.g. a copy of the prescription, an original drug container with a pharmacy label). Encourage your clients to carry essential medication in their hand luggage and to bring more than enough for the duration of their trip. Travellers should also contact an embassy or consulate of their destination country before leaving Canada to make sure the prescription and over-the-counter medications they intend to bring into the country are legal. Remind your clients who travel with syringes and needles that they must carry a medical certificate or an explanation from their health care provider.

Advise your clients to read up on health conditions in their destination country. Encourage them to review the country’s Travel Advice and Travel Health Notices on travel.gc.ca before their departure. Travellers should be prepared to acclimatize to jet lag, altitude sickness and the effects of heat. Keeping hydrated, using sunblock and taking precautions when handling food and water is essential to ensure a healthy stay abroad. Also remind your clients to take extra precautions against insect- and tick-borne diseases by wearing bright, long-sleeved clothes and using repellent, especially in countries where malaria is present.

If your clients experience illness when returning to Canada, they should seek immediate medical attention. They should inform their health care provider that they’ve been abroad, where they’ve been and what, if any, medical treatment they’ve received. Canadians who travel to malaria-affected areas and develop fever within a year of returning home should visit their health care provider immediately.
For more information, see travel.gc.ca/health. The booklet Well on Your Way and Drugs and Travel: Do's and Don'ts also offer valuable health and drug-related advice. Download electronic copies or order print versions by calling 1-800-267-8376 (in Canada) or 613-944-4000.