When people ask about my job, I often say the hardest part is explaining what I do.
Many are surprised to learn that nursing goes beyond hospitals and clinics and often extends into the corporate world. If a business operates within the medical field, it will need to employ medical professionals with the required expertise and knowledge. Medical case management at Healix is such a role. Simply put, itÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™s essential to ensure that patients, no matter where they are in the world, receive the care they need while balancing medical and financial considerations.
"My role shows that nursing has many avenues beyond working in hospitals. It creates new opportunities and experiences to develop your career that would otherwise not be available in a clinical setting!"
.
What is medical case management and how does it relate to nursing?
Medical case management is a vital part of the medical assistance industry that helps individuals who are travelling, whether for business or leisure, and have become ill or injured abroad.At Healix, we work with business and leisure travellers who are taken ill overseas and their cases come to us via their travel insurance. We collaborate with all stakeholders: including patients, healthcare providers, hospitals and clinics, underwriters and insurance companies to ensure seamless coordination and comprehensive care. Our goal is to make sure they receive appropriate care overseas and that the treatment is medically effective and cost-efficient for the insurance companies involved.
Why are nurses ideally suited for this role?
Nurses bring their expertise in clinical care to assess medical reports and ensure patients, no matter where they are in the world, are receiving appropriate treatment. We review medical reports and speak to the overseas treating physicians about the care they are providing. Nurses assess the medical information and then make recommendations to all parties. For example, a travelling employee has a fractured neck or femur in Spain and the Healix assessment deciphers that surgery is required as soon as possible. WeÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™ve established good local health care providers where this surgery can take place and can be financially covered. This is an oversimplified example, but you can start to understand the role our nurses play.
Medical repatriation is another side of the role nurses have in the medical assistance industry. In some cases, patients require special assistance to travel home, whether through a private air ambulance or a commercial flight with a nurse escort, ensuring safe transport back to their home country. While medical case management is a hybrid office-based job, flight nursing represents the clinical side of the role by flying out and providing care to the patient on their repatriation.
How is medical assistance a nursing specialism?
Medical case
managers understand not only a wide range of medical conditions but also the
complexities of health care systems worldwide. With the added layer of aviation
physiology, this role is highly specialised, demanding a diverse and deep skill
set from its nursing professionals that Healix can help individuals develop. At
its core, this role still centres on the values that define nursing, ensuring
patient safety, advocating for appropriate care, and using clinical expertise
to guide decision-making.
With expertise in global health care, medical conditions, and aviation, nurses play a vital role in providing safe, efficient, and cost-effective medical assistance worldwide. Working in this role has allowed me to take my medical knowledge and apply it in a new way. Completing patient assessments through conversational phone calls and written medical reports is very different from when the patient is in front of you. It's a new challenge, but I feel much more confident navigating international health care, using different languages and assessing patients worldwide.
