Foreign Travel Guidelines

The BNL employee who anticipates foreign travel for BNL business is strongly requested to visit the Occupational Medicine Clinic (OMC) approximately 6 weeks before departure and meet with a nurse or doctor to discuss personal protective measures, receive a travel kit, and begin receiving necessary vaccinations and prescriptions for appropriate medications for travel to a particular area. Domestic travel, or travel to the developed world such as Canada, Western Europe or Japan may not require immunizations, however the traveler may desire a travel kit and discuss medical issues.

Information for health-related issues for BNL employees traveling internationally - Issues of concern include (but are not limited to):

• A note from the employee’s primary care provider concerning any personal medical issues related to foreign (or domestic) travel. Supplies of necessary medications may also be discussed at this time. If a travel upgrade or special accommodations is requested by the employee’s personal physician, a note is requested indicating this need, the medical condition prompting this need, and its anticipated duration. Upon review of the note, the OMC clinician will send an upgrade request memo to the Fiscal Services Division Manager, indicating only upgrade request and duration. Upgrade/special accommodation requests must be renewed by OMC at least every 6 months.
• Employees current health status and past medical history
• Employee’s immunization record
• Necessary vaccinations for travel to a particular area based on CDC Guidelines
• Necessary medications for travel to a particular area
• Current illnesses or outbreaks endemic to certain destinations with the latest health updates
• Air travel hazards
• Receipt of Travel kit (available only to BNL business travelers) which may be used for minor first aid and self limiting illnesses
• Medical care abroad and travel insurance
• Travel–related stress; phobias

Suggested Procedures

Prior to departure, the traveler reviews all information on foreign travel provided by OMC as part of the Travel Kit, and contacts OMC (x3670) for any questions.

Prior to departure, the traveler is advised to contact their health insurance carrier/BNL Benefits Department (344-2877) for questions regarding health coverage abroad. The traveler should carry a medical insurance card, claim forms, doctor’s note (if possible) and a list of medications with their generic names.

If the traveler encounters health problems during foreign travel, the traveler takes the following actions:

• The traveler may use medications from the Travel kit for minor and self limiting illnesses.
• The traveler should seek local medical assistance for severe and protracted illnesses.
• The traveler should carry the medical insurance card, claim forms, doctor’s note (if possible) and a list of medications with their generic names.
• If a US citizen gets severely ill or injured abroad, they should contact the US consulate to assist in medical services, notification and transfer of funds.
• The BNL Benefits Department can be reached using a toll free number 1-800-353-5321.
• International medical and expatriation organizations are available for additional assistance.

If the traveler arrives home ill or becomes ill upon return home:

• The traveler stays home and calls OMC at# 3670 for advice.
• The traveler calls personal physician and discusses medical condition.
• The traveler sees personal physician and advises physician of symptoms and recent travel.
• The traveler stays home from work and advises OMC of symptoms and findings from consultation with personal physician, if made.
• The traveler does not come to BNL until advised to do so by OMC.
• When advised to do so by OMC, the traveler comes to OMC for back to work clearance. If possible, the traveler should bring a note from his/her personal physician.

Due to cost and limited supply if some vaccines, OMC may not carry all the recommended vaccines at any given time, therefore, travelers may be referred to local outside travel clinics to complete the CDC recommended immunizations. The employee’s department is expected to cover the cost of prescription medications or outside vaccinations received by the employee. The following references may be helpful to the BNL traveler:

1. CDC website for prospective travel regions http://www.cdc.gov/travel.
2. The U.S. Department of State for Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html.
3. The IAMAT website http://www.iamat.org (International association for Medical assistance to Travelers) provides elective membership to the individual traveler, giving local worldwide travel clinics at reasonable cost.
4. World Health Organization website for further travel advice http://www.who.int/ith.
5. International Society of Travel Medicine website http://www.istm.org.
6. Travelers may want to consult for http://www.medexassist.com travel insurance and emergency medical assistance information.

See also Travelers Risks and How to Avoid Them

Employees can also contact OMC Nurses by e-mail at nurses@bnl.gov if they have any questions or concerns regarding foreign travel.

Last Modified: March 5, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to: Joseph Falco

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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