What is Travel Medicine?
Travel medicine is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned with the prevention and management of health problems associated with travel.
The travel health practitioner is an expert in destination specific health risks and preventative measures. Travel medicine specialists address and respond to travelers' disease, epidemic and vaccination issues, and monitor governmental and regulatory agencies such as the CDC and WHO.
Many people are surprised to learn that there are doctors and nurses who specialize in health issues related to travel.
Travel Medicine evolved in response to a need among leisure and business travelers for accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information on destination-specific health risks.
Dr. Bradley A. Connor founded Travel Health Services in New York in 1986, one of a handful of physicians in the United States at the time to conceptualize and create the specialty of Travel Medicine. Travel Medicine is involved in all health aspects of travel with concerns as diverse as (1) “What shots do I need for this trip”, (2) I am an insulin-dependent diabetic traveling to Hong Kong, how do I account for the 12 time zones in taking my insulin?, (3) What happens if I get sick during my trip?
Travel Medicine begins with a pre-travel consultation, which tailors destination-specific advice to the individual traveler. Depending on the specific travel itinerary, health and immunization history, current medications, type of travel (business, leisure, adventure, off the beaten track, organized tour, etc.) a plan is created to keep you safe and healthy. This often includes information on food and water precautions, prevention and self treatment of travelers’ diarrhea, vaccine preventable disease and strategies for prevention of local tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. At Travel Health Services we provide the full array of routine, recommended and required vaccines for travel. We are an official Yellow Fever Vaccination Center, authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to validate the International Certificates of Vaccination (ICV).