With the world becoming more interconnected, international events are now more common than ever. Whether it’s a global conference, sports event, or cultural gathering, attendees come from all around the world to participate and engage. However, this diverse participation also brings along a critical challenge for meeting planners: ensuring access to quality healthcare for attendees . This is where a Global Telehealth Service steps in, offering a seamless and inclusive solution to bridge the healthcare gap and provide top-notch medical assistance in multiple languages. In this article, we will delve into the advantages of incorporating a global telehealth service into your event’s healthcare support, focusing on its role in catering to the unique needs of international attendees. Ensuring Access to Quality Healthcare: Instant Medical Assistance : Global telehealth services provide immediate access to healthcare professionals, ensuring that international attendees receive timely medical attention, regardless of their location within the event premises. This is crucial in emergencies, where every second counts. Overcoming Language Barriers : One of the most significant challenges faced by international attendees is the language barrier. Global telehealth services address this issue by offering medical consultations in multiple languages, ensuring that attendees can communicate their symptoms and receive advice in their native tongue. This not only enhances the accuracy of the medical assistance provided but also offers a sense of comfort and ease to the attendees. Cultural Competence : Beyond language, understanding cultural nuances is vital in providing effective healthcare. Global telehealth professionals are trained to be culturally competent, ensuring that they are sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of international attendees and can provide care that aligns with their cultural expectations and beliefs. 24/7 Availability : Events often run around the clock, and medical emergencies can occur at any time. Global telehealth services operate 24/7, ensuring that healthcare support is available whenever it is needed, providing peace of mind to international attendees. Incorporating a global telehealth service into your event’s healthcare support is a strategic move that ensures all attendees, regardless of their nationality, have access to quality healthcare in their native language. It breaks down the barriers of language and culture, provides instant and around-the-clock medical assistance, navigates the complexities of international healthcare, and offers a cost-efficient solution to in-person medical consultations. By doing so, planners can foster a safer, more inclusive, and welcoming environment for international participants, ensuring that everyone can focus on what truly matters: engaging, connecting, and enjoying the event to the fullest. To learn more about InHouse Physicians Global Telehealth Services , click below:

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Background : At a recent corporate incentive meeting in Honolulu, a significant medical challenge arose that demonstrated the value of InHouse Physicians’ on-site medical support services for meetings. The group included employees, spouses, and children. Among the attendees was a 6-year-old Japanese boy who, amid the festivities, developed a life threating medical emergency. Presenting Challenge: The boy’s family noticed that during their 8-hour flight from Tokyo their son was feeling very tired, drowsy, and thirsty. His symptoms at the event progressed and the child had also developed an upset stomach and nausea. Though the symptoms were vague, the parents were concerned about their boy’s health. In their welcome packet they had noticed that an on-site “company doctor” would be supporting the group. The physician’s direct cell phone number had been published so they decided to contact the physician to schedule a time for a visit. IHP's Response: The parents were happily surprised that the doctor was in the hotel and spoke fluent Japanese! The IHP physicians made a “house call” to the family’s room to evaluate their son. Dr. Kaczynski was a board-certified emergency medicine physician with extensive medical experience in Japan who understood the Japanese culture. This put the family at ease. Though the symptoms were nonspecific, Dr. Kaczynski’s physical exam of the boy suggested a life-threatening illness - diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) - a condition that, if not treated swiftly, can lead to long-term consequences including death. Rapid urine and blood tests at the hotel confirmed the diagnosis of DKA. The boy received medical treatment by the IHP on-site physician and paramedic including IV fluids and medication. The IHP physician arranged for a smooth transport to the local pediatric emergency room where the diagnoses was also confirmed. Outcome and Insights: The boy had developed new onset, Type 1 diabetes that was unknown to the parents. Because the child was undiagnosed, he had not been receiving regular insulin injections and developed diabetic ketoacidosis. The boy was admitted to the hospital where he received intensive medical treatment and was discharged three days later with a comprehensive diabetes management plan. The IHP team's presence not only provided top-tier medical care, but also extended its support to the boy's family in managing potential healthcare expenses. IHP’s efforts ensured that the boy’s medical team back in Japan was well-informed. In addition, insurance paperwork was completed by the IHP team saving the family from financial stress. Conclusion: This case underscores the indispensable role of having an adept medical team like IHP on-site during events. Not all attendee medical issues are life threating, though in this case, the IHP team’s professionalism, swift decision-making, and holistic approach to care made the difference between a potential tragedy and an attendee experience success.

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What does a typical day at an iHP on-site clinic look like? It's never just 'routine.' As healthcare providers, we're committed to delivering compassionate, patient-centric care - a commitment that takes on new meaning when emergencies arise at events. This commitment shines through in a recent instance involving a senior advisor at a key meeting where iHP was the on-site medical team. The day started like any other, but took an unexpected turn when a VIP attendee walked into the on-site clinic, distressed and in pain. He had been experiencing severe abdominal discomfort all day, even after taking multiple stomach medications. Upon his arrival, our expert on-site paramedic team along with our telemedicine physician swung into action. After a careful assessment, they identified the potential cause of his discomfort - appendicitis. This medical condition requires immediate attention, and we knew swift action was necessary. We quickly arranged for ambulance transportation, communicated the seriousness of the situation to security and the planning team, notified the chosen ER of the pending patient, and all the while comforting and reassuring the attendee. A few hours later, the attendee underwent an emergency appendectomy. Our expert medical team at IHP had correctly identified the issue and acted promptly, ensuring that he received the care he needed in time. Fast forward two days later, the attendee was fit to be discharged from the hospital and returned to his event. It was a heartwarming moment when he walked in, accompanied by his family – his wife, children, and his father, who himself was an attendee of the same event. Their smiles radiated relief and gratitude. To see them all together, healthy and safe, brought a deep sense of fulfillment to our team. Their heartfelt gratitude was a testament to the value of having medical professionals onsite. This instance serves as a reminder of why we're here: to provide fast, efficient, and compassionate care when it matters the most. Whether it's a minor ache or a situation as serious as appendicitis, we at InHouse Physicians are committed to serving our patients with the utmost diligence and compassion. The attendees' story is just one of many we have been privileged to be a part of at iHP. We take pride in delivering excellent medical care to attendees, but even more, we cherish the opportunity to make a real difference in their lives. Our team at iHP stands ready, as always, prepared to respond to any medical situation with speed, expertise, and a whole lot of heart.

The Meetings and Events Industry has been heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, and there are many lessons meeting professionals and the industry as a whole have learned when it comes to making events safer. InHouse Physicians has been providing Health Security and on-site medical support for meetings for over 30 years. Jonathan Spero, M.D, CEO of iHP, has been providing a voice of guidance to the industry as it continues to navigate the successful return of in-person events. We asked Dr. Spero some key questions that meeting professionals need guidance on in 2022: Q: When is time for the meetings industry go to back to normal? Is normal possible? Have we moved from pandemic to endemic? ​Dr. Spero: We have not moved from the pandemic to the endemic stage yet. It may take another year or so. As for normal....there is no going back. We will not see normal again as it pertains to health security. Why? Because COVID fundamentally changed our views of the world. Health security was always a 3rd world problem, not a 1st world problem. That changed with COVID. In addition to this, the meeting industry discovered that a pandemic even with a relatively low death rate could devastate the industry. Yes, over a million people died in the U.S. from COVID and that is a huge number. However, the average mortality rate of COVID is turning out to be around 0.5%. We could very realistically have another pandemic with a 5% mortality rate. Just imagine a tenfold increase in mortality and what it would do to the meeting industry and the entire global economy. Q: As a health care expert, what are the most critical learnings we have taken away from this pandemic? Dr. Spero: We are still in a pandemic and the meeting industry will probably never get back to the "old normal.” Here are 4 main reasons: Countries, society, organizations, and individuals have fundamentally modified their perspective on health security threats. We will have more pandemics in our lifetime, perhaps even several more. In fact, we have already had two recent pandemics separated only by 11 years over the past two decades! The meeting industry is very vulnerable to any type of global infectious outbreak such as a pandemic Health Security is the only way to address the factors above. Q: Will Health Security be like it is now in the future? Dr. Spero: Health Security measures have relaxed over the past few months as COVID stats have improved. However, as we move to an endemic situation in the future, the degree of health security standards may vary seasonally and regionally depending on the COVID trends. In addition, new variants will create a sense of uncertainty and may abruptly change the level of health security standards at meetings. Q: What can planners do promote attendee health and wellbeing? Dr. Spero: Attendee well-being is directly promotional to the attendee experience. You can have a top-notch experiential design and the attendee experience can be dragged down by stress and physical complaints. For at least the next few years, attendees will be hyper-aware of health risks with an emphasis on COVID-like illnesses. COVID is not going away, so stay vigilant with your health security measures, including convenient access to medical care and rapid, sensitive COVID testing. Address the enormous stress your attendees are experiencing. They are in an unfamiliar setting, managing the high pressure of the meeting, and simultaneously dealing with their personal and regular professional responsibilities. I believe it is essential for planners who want to be successful to provide attendees with tools and resources to calm their minds and improve their experience in the program. This can range from: · Stress and sleep management apps for their phone or hotel TV · Mind-enhancing nutritional options · Recovery strategies during the day such as access to a restoration lounge or other recovery tools during breaks that are designed to get your attendees back into the flow state/ · And finally, health security measures that meet your attendees' expectations and potential concerns. To learn more about InHouse Physicians and Health Security for your events, visit our website at https://www.inhousephysicians.com/onsitemedical .

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