Future Care CEO, Christina DeSimone talked about medical issues at sea last week at the CMA Shipping 2017 Conference, held in Stamford, Connecticut.

DeSimone discussed the mitigation of crewmember medical claims utilizing innovative techniques, such as Tele-Medical Physician Advice at Sea and Future Care’s unique Caring for the Crew Program.

Other speakers included representatives from Royal Caribbean and the Coast Guard, as well as Abojeb Manning Agency, and the North American Ministries.

DeSimone focused on the idea that medical triage for crewmembers begins onboard the vessel, and should be utilized for any medical incident, no matter how small. Primary health care aliments in particular, require immediate treatment on board, with physician oversight, thus assisting the crewmember immediately, avoiding emergency shoreside treatment, emergency deviations and unnecessary repatriations.

Tele-Medical advice has been at the helm of shipowners’ current concerns with the 2013 Title IV Maritime Labor Convention in effect that requires a shipowner to give their crewmember access to tele medical advice at sea. 

Future Care Live combines Future Care’s Caring for the Crew program with live video streaming software to provide a new level of medical care at sea.

Future Care’s most recent medical statistics, presented at CMA, have shown that illness at sea is the predominate cause for captains to ask for medical advice. The presentation summarized that managing and monitoring a crewmember’s medical treatment should be a continuous process both on board the vessel and shoreside.

.