Medical Travel Policy

The protection of workers abroad is the central theme of this service. The responsibility for an in-depth assessment of the risks present in the various countries of the world, taking into account what is reported on the official government sites, is of the employer, but relying exclusively on the information contained therein is not enough.

The analysis must evaluate the endemic health problems, the level of local medical facilities and the ease of access. The framework must obviously take into consideration the tasks that will be carried out by individual employees in relation to the environment in which they will operate correlated to their pre-departure clinical status.

The Commission for Rulings, with ruling no. 11/2016, “deems that the employer must assess all risks, including potential and specific environmental risks, linked to the characteristics of the country in which the work must be performed, such as, by way of example, the so-called aggravated generic risks, linked to the geopolitical situation of the country (e.g. civil wars, attacks, etc.) and the health conditions of the geographical context of reference not considered abstractly, but which have the reasonable and concrete possibility of manifesting themselves in correlation with the work performed.”

As provided for by article 279 of Legislative Decree 81/08 - Prevention and control, point 2 includes the possibility of adopting particular protective measures for workers for whom special protection measures are required, including: offering effective vaccines to workers who are not already immune to the biological agent(s) present in the work site.

Thanks to our team of experienced specialists in Business Travel Medicine, the company will have the right support to identify and map the risks associated with the trip with consequent updating of the Risk Assessment Document.

Together with the Occupational Health physician, ad hoc health protocols will be created for travel abroad, which may include, for example:

medical examinations in addition to those provided for in the Health Surveillance Plan, linked to the particular environmental conditions of the destination of the business trip;
pre-trip medical consultation involving the Ambimed specialist and the employee;
the prescription of an anti-malarial drug prophylaxis if there is a risk of exposure to the disease;
the planning of an additional vaccination plan before departure, focused on the diseases endemic in the country of travel, on the basis of seasonality and the period of stay;
further medical checks to check the employee’s health upon returning home.

The legal and moral responsibility of a company to take care of its employees, whether travelling or away, is known as "duty of care". Any business entity is required to demonstrate that it has adequately fulfilled its Duty of care in the event of a travel/business accident.

CONTACT AMBIMED FOR YOUR MEDICAL TRAVEL POLICY