For many, summer means more travel. And travel planning can feel overwhelming, especially if you have complex health needs. My HealtheVet, VA’s online patient portal, makes it easy to manage your health care while traveling.
Whether you’re traveling in-state or out of the country, you can rest assured knowing you’ll have access to VA care regardless of where you are.
Follow these five tips to ensure your health care needs are met while you’re away from home.
1. Notify your VA care team
VA highly recommends that you notify your health care team four to six weeks before travel, particularly if you need medication refills or regular medical appointments. Send a secure message through My HealtheVet to notify your provider of your upcoming travel.
2. Ensure you have up-to-date documentation
It’s important to have up-to-date copies of all important documents, whenever you travel. Use My HealtheVet to print a health insurance wallet ID card to keep on hand while you travel.
3. Update your vaccines
Staying up to date on vaccines is important regardless of whether you’re planning to travel. Can’t remember when you were last vaccinated? Don’t fret. My HealtheVet makes it easy to view and download your vaccination history with VA Health Summary. If you see that you’re due for a vaccination—or if you’re traveling to an area that poses a risk for tropical disease—schedule an appointment with your VA provider as soon as possible.
4. Manage your prescriptions
Be sure to pack enough medication refills to last your entire trip and extra in case of flight delays. Always pack your medications in your carry-on bag in case your checked luggage is lost or delayed. Discuss your current medications and the plan for refills with your VA care team. My HealtheVet’s prescription tool makes it easier to manage your medication online.
5. Familiarize yourself with VA’s telehealth options
If you have a diagnosis that requires routine appointments, telehealth can help you keep up with those appointments while traveling domestically. Through telehealth technologies and programs, VA works to connect Veterans and VA providers regardless of distance. Speak with your VA care team about whether telehealth is a right fit for your care, then schedule your virtual appointments through the online scheduling feature on My HealtheVet.
For more information visit My HealtheVet.
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This is a dam joke . I’m 100% P & T and I need pain management for injections when my lower back flares up. Contacted my primary doc and traveling vet coordinator. I travel full time always just around. Grand junction don’t wanna help me cause I’m not going to be in the areas for months for current imaging and then after care. There fu*** injections to calm everything down. I get them every 4-6 months. What kind of god dam care are we supposed to get a bandage. I can’t fly back to Cleveland Ohio every time I need help. This is BS the people are nice the policies are sht
I was injured April 2018 during a terrible snow storm, and the ambulance wouldn’t take me to the Minneapolis VA Hospital because of the weather, instead I had to go for care at our local hospital. My wife notified the VA with the information they needed. It’s been back and forth with the VA for over 6 years with paper work, etc. In the last few days the out of pocket costs which were close to $3,000.00 were all denied. I hope that no other Veteran has to go through what I experienced.
Not leaving the US is great traveling tips and planning Information! Not sure for out of US.
This is just common sense. I don’t really need the VA to tell me like a toddler to take my medicine and manage it when travelling. When the VA covers health care for veterans overseas one day, I’ll be amazed.
Common sense isn’t that common. If you had common sense, 1) you would know this and 2) you would know that this info are for those people who may not be aware of what to do and how to go about things with the VA during travel.
This is perfect as I am intending on traveling and will follow these directions to ensure I have all the immunizations, refills, etc as needed to comfortably travel. In addition, this will make me feel safe as it will be like having my primary Veteran Health Administration team on vacation with me,etc.
Folks, Great article …strait forward …you keep it simple …keep it up …
Duncan Chapman
Retired Col, USAR
When traveling I have not been able to get medication with success from my doctors. The last 2 years I have had the same problem because I cannot receive mail service.
I wish Telehealth was an option while traveling outside the US.
In Item # 2 instead of just directing readers to My Healthevet you should make it a link like you do in other sections.
I went to My Healthevet to print a medical ID card and could not locate where I could do that. There does not seem to be a “Search” function on the My HealtheVet site. You should have put the link directly to the place in My HealtheVet where veterans can print their card. You can either use the time of ONE of your employees to do it or make thousands of vets waste their time trying to find it on their own. One employee doing it once seems to be more efficient to me ?
I’m traveling to Europe this summer, late July to Sept 1, and request information pertinent to my trip. What options are available if I were to get sick, need emergency care or any circumstance where medical help is required.
Thank you
Hi David, I highly recommend you need to check this link https://www.va.gov/health-care/foreign-medical-program/, please read /get familiarize then register your name. There are no VA Medical Centers or Clinics in Europe.
Contact information are listed below:
Option 1: Online
Contact us online through Ask VA
Option 2: By email
Email us at HAC.FMP@va.gov. To protect your privacy, don’t send sensitive personal or health care information through email.
Option 3: By phone
Call the FMP office at 303-331-7590 (TTY: 711). We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:05 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. ET.
If you’re living in one of these countries, you can call the FMP office toll-free:
U.S. and Canada: 877-345-8179
Australia: 1-800-354 965
Costa Rica: 0800-013-0759
Germany: 0800-1800-011
Italy: 800-782-655
Japan: 00531-13-0871
Mexico: 001-877-345-8179
Spain: 900-981-776
United Kingdom: 0800-032-7425
Hope this helps and Travel Safe!
Melody
TRAVEL INSURANCE
I was always afraid of getting sick when out of the country as a retirees.
This is good news
Thanks
It’s crazy that we can’t just use any VA facility anywhere without some additional registration required.
I was in RI visiting my (veteran) brother and his family. I hurt my finger, and wanted to go down the street to the local clinic. I called first, and they told me I couldn’t come there since I wasn’t registered in the state. So, I had to borrow a car and drive up to Providence to the main VA hospital. I spent hours there just to get looked at: first, I had to fill our forms at the front desk; I was concerned that somehow it would mess up my rating. Might sound like a panic but I don’t trust the system… Anyway, then I had to go down to the basement and sit in the hall for a while, outside some kind of secret office. Really. Looked like something out of Bourne. Eventually I got to go in to this little broom closet office where a woman had two computers on her desk; one for the feds and one for the state. She synced up my data, and then turned me loose. But not to go to the clinic back in my brother’s town. I had to go sit around the ER. Took forever there because of the actual emergencies coming through. Finally got to go into the inner rooms – where I sat around some more. Finally got an X-ray. The doctor said he couldn’t tell if it was broken or not (?), and didn’t know what else to do. I suggested one of those pliable metal splint things, and he dug one up and put it on. Footnote: when I got back home and had it checked again, there were 3 very visible chips broken off the tip of my finger.
Why do we have to register in separate states when we’re in the federal VA system???
My primary Doctor said that you could have Meds mailed to where your are staying if it was needed. However this article or my Doc could tel me what number is need to call to kget this set up.
I agree. The same thing happened to me I Minnesota when I hurt my ankle
But they made me apply for readministration for VA Elegibility even though I had my VA ID card with me.
Great information to use . I’m known as a traveling Veteran. so it helps a lot when need .
Is a veteran covered during international travel?
Great Work!
Traveled to Minnesota to visit family. While there I became ill. Wife suggested the nearest VA clinic. When I arrived I was told that yes, I am in the VA system but I could not see a doctor since I was not registered in the state of Minnesota. To see a VA doctor I would have to travel to the VA hospital in Minneapolis and register. I left the clinic frustrated and still ill. Since driving to Minneapolis was out of the question I stop at the nearest medical facility. They had me registered and seeing a doctor in 15 minutes.
What do you do if you do become sick or injured while traveling
Hello Michael, I am the Traveling Vet Coordinator at the Prescott VA and I get this question alot. It is important to remember that your home primary care provider continues to manage our care while you traveling. Therefore, it is important to let your provider know if you are sick or injured while traveling because he/she can request medical care for you at another VA facility by entering a traveling vet consult for you. Also, keep in mind that a traveling vet consult is not needed to go to any Urgent Care or ER. So in an emergency go directly to the nearest medical facility. The facility needs to be contracted with Tri-West in order for the VA to reimburse the facility for your medical care.
You should probably mention that if a veteran goes to the ER he or she needs to notify the VA about the visit within 72 hours so that the VA will pay the bill. However, if the veteran goes to an urgent care facility that is part of the VA network,
such as a ConvenientMD Urgent Care walk in facility, then a notification from the veteran is not necessary because the provider is responsible for making the notification.
Hello,
What if I need urgent or emergency care in the Philippines? The charges must be paid upfront so I would need to be reimbursed. In line with the 72 hour rule, who do I contact? The VA outpatient clinic in Manila?
Thanks,
Mark Schumacher
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Thank you for great care. What is procedure for international travel!?
I don’t guess there’s much they can do internationally. Neither can Medicare, so………. ?
Stock up on your prescriptions. And be sure and take them in the original bottles.
Great traveling tips and planning Information!
Thanks!
I found the information very informative and want to express my sincere gratitude for providing this information.
Thank you for the information.
Very good advice, I appreciate the heads up.
Still waiting on RADICAL TRANSparency from VISIN 19 / Eastern Colorado Healthcare Services ECHCS in regards to ignorance around Telehealth policies along with ongoing discrimination, harassment, and retaliation towards VA employees and Veterans.
146 days still waiting on appointments.
How often do you call them in regard to not getting in for an appointment? Is this for a specialty clinic? Are you going through your care team. Stop waiting for them to call you as you will probably die before that happens.