In a medical emergency abroad the useful preparation is not knowledge of medicine. It is knowing three things before you need them: the local emergency number, your insurer’s assistance line, and where the nearest facility capable of treating a serious problem actually is. All three can be written on a card in ten minutes, and none of them can be worked out quickly in the moment.
The short version
- 911 is not the number. Emergency numbers differ by country and are published on the State Department’s page for each one.
- Call your insurer’s assistance line early, ideally before treatment. The CDC advises choosing a policy with 24-hour physician support.
- Ambulances are not a given. 97 of 211 destination pages describe them as limited, absent or below U.S. standards.
- Expect to pay at the point of care, and to claim afterward.
- The nearest embassy or consulate can help you find care, but it does not pay for it.
What You Need to Know
Emergency response abroad differs from the United States in ways that are easy to describe and hard to improvise around.
Getting to care
Of the 211 destinations the State Department publishes country information for, 97 describe ambulance service as not widely available, not present throughout the country, or below U.S. standards, and several state plainly that an injured traveler may be better off taking a taxi or private vehicle to a hospital than waiting for an ambulance. That is a strange sentence to read at home and a useful one to have read in advance.
Paying for care
188 of those 211 pages describe care providers who expect payment at the time, commonly in cash. Whatever your cover, plan for the possibility that you pay first and claim later, which means access to funds and an itemized bill. Calling the assistance line before treatment sometimes allows the insurer to guarantee payment directly for a larger admission.
Deciding where to go
Quality varies within a country as much as between countries, and the nearest hospital is not always the right one. Your insurer’s assistance line exists partly to answer this, which is the practical argument for calling them first: they know which facility in that city they will pay for and which they will not.
What to Do Before Your Trip
- Write the local emergency number down for every country on the itinerary.
- Save the insurer’s assistance line offline, and leave a copy with someone at home.
- Find the nearest capable hospital for each overnight location.
- Note the U.S. embassy or consulate address and telephone number.
- Carry a medical card: blood type, allergies, conditions, medications by generic name, emergency contact.
Responsible for a group? Who goes to the hospital, who stays with the group, and how the itinerary continues are five-minute decisions beforehand and impossible ones at midnight.
Explore group travel planningImportant Considerations
What a U.S. embassy or consulate can do is specific and limited, and knowing the boundary avoids wasted time. They can help you find local medical care, contact family or friends on your behalf, and assist with transferring money from home. They do not pay medical bills, do not provide medical care, and cannot compel a hospital to treat you.
Consider registering your trip with the State Department’s traveler enrollment program before departure. It costs nothing, and it is the mechanism by which a consulate knows you are in the country if something happens at a scale larger than your own emergency.
Language is a practical obstacle at exactly the wrong moment. A written card listing your conditions and medications in the local language, or a translation app downloaded for offline use, is worth the few minutes it takes to prepare.
Tips for Group Travelers
- Carry the group’s medical and insurance details in one sealed place a leader can open.
- Brief the group on the local emergency number on day one, not in an emergency.
- Agree in advance who accompanies a traveler to hospital and who stays with the group.
- Know each traveler’s emergency contact at home and who is authorized to be told what.
- Plan for the itinerary to continue without the leader, because it may have to.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Dialing 911 by reflex in a country where it means nothing.
- Waiting for an ambulance where the country’s own guidance advises otherwise.
- Paying and leaving without an itemized bill.
- Calling the insurer after treatment when the policy required prior authorization.
- Keeping every emergency number only on a phone that may be lost or broken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the emergency number abroad?
It varies by country and there is no universal one. Many countries in Europe use 112, and many others have separate numbers for police, ambulance and fire. The State Department publishes the numbers on the health page for each destination, and they are worth writing on paper rather than trusting to a phone.
Should I call my insurer before going to hospital?
Where the situation allows, yes. Many policies require notification, some require prior authorization for anything non-emergency, and the assistance line can often direct you to a facility they will pay for and sometimes arrange payment directly. In a life-threatening emergency, get treatment first and call as soon as you can.
Will the U.S. embassy pay my medical bills?
No. A consulate can help you find local medical care, contact your family, and assist with a transfer of funds from home, but it does not pay for treatment and cannot provide it. That gap is precisely what travel health insurance is for.
What if I need to be flown home?
That is medical evacuation, and it is a separate insurance product. The CDC puts the cost of moving someone from a remote area to a high-quality hospital at more than $100,000 without cover, and the State Department recommends supplemental evacuation cover on 204 of the 211 destination pages it publishes.
Related Travel Tips
- Health, insurance and travel protection, the section this guide belongs to.
- Medical Insurance Abroad. Whether your cover travels, and evacuation.
- Traveling With Prescription Medication. Replacing a lost prescription.
- Understanding Travel Advisories. Reading a destination before you go.
Plan Your Trip With LABUSA Travel
Where the nearest capable hospital sits relative to each night of an itinerary is a question with a specific answer, and it is worth having before departure rather than during. LABUSA Travel works it out as part of planning the route.
Talk with a LABUSA Travel advisor about a trip you are considering, or browse our destination guides for a specific country.
Verify Before You Travel
Emergency numbers, ambulance availability and payment practice are published per destination by the U.S. Department of State. Guidance on insurance and 24-hour physician support is published by CDC Travelers’ Health. This page is general guidance and not medical advice.
Travel requirements, health guidance and safety conditions can change. Always confirm current requirements with the appropriate government or official authority before departure.