Medical services on Oceania

[p598738]

My husband miscalculated the number of pills needed for the cruise. He was about 6 pills short. I think it was lipitor. The doctor on the Riviera charged him $400. He didn't need an exam, so the price was a little excessive.

 

A little excessive ? A little ?

[Earl Rosebery]

A shame he didn't understand that skipping a few days of Lipitor would have had no consequences.

[StanandJim]

A little excessive ? A little ?

At which point during the course of an initial office visit, in your opinion, should a doctor be prepared to take the word of a patient as to which drugs should be proscribed to them?

[sammiedawg]

I'm a health care professional and I pretty much agree with Cleveland clinic. PICC line, daily infusions, flushing ports, dressing changes, titrating meds, lab work all together constitute a higher level of complexity than a cruise ship normally handles. I would worry about the cruise ship lab equipment, calibration. I'm guessing your wife will be having peaks and troughs. Labs should be certified by accrediting agencies and I don't know if that happens on cruise ships.

 

I pray your wife recovers fully, I'm sure she will under the expert care she is receiving. Then you can reschedule this trip. The best of luck to both of you,

 

I have not heard that CCF (Cleveland clinic Foundation) has an affiliation with Oceania.,

[azam71209]

I broke my toe on one of the smaller ships, Regatta I think. Good service, got an x-ray, had it taped and checked over several days. Also read their brochure that they had a link to Cleveland clinic, at least for reading cardio results. I suggest that you contact Oceania for specific information on what will be needed and whether they can accommodate you. Costs seem be in line with what we would pay at home out of pocket. Everything was covered by our travel insurance. One good reason to get travel insurance that is primary. If they need to coordinate with your home policy, they do all the work and contact the other insurance on your behalf.

 

Mary

[CateW]

We are looking at Marina. Another reply suggested $80 per visit. Is that close ? Do you know what the blood work cost ? Our situation would be a 'pre existing condition' ergo no trip insurance payment. I think I could submit bills to my secondary back in the States as they cover costs incurred outside of the US. Thanks.

 

 

Pre-existing conditions are covered by cruise insurance (at least through Alliance) as long as you purchase the insurance prior to final payment.

[happy cruzer]

The post that had the attached costs broken down was extremely helpful. After reading posts about the "high" costs of the medical care on O, I now understand how that adds up. It did have a line item for Cleveland Clinic consultation which would seem to be helpful.

 

They question about cost and quality of care should be compared to other ships medical centers not really a home doctor. Has anyone had fairly recent visits on other lines to compare to O?

 

Thanks for sharing.

[YoHoHo]

Pre-existing conditions are covered by cruise insurance (at least through Alliance) as long as you purchase the insurance prior to final payment.

 

Insurance coverage contracts are specific and a purchaser needs to be aware of how their policy's terms and conditions apply to their specific situation. I'm not offering insurance coverage or purchase advice but general information that I consider.

 

Normally to be eligible for a waiver for a pre-existing condition the condition must be stable. The definition of stable will be part of the particular policy. Part of that is a time period prior to coverage that varies with the condition, age, and policy. So a condition might have to have been "stable", as defined by that policy, for perhaps three or six or twelve months prior.

 

A change in prescription dosage might not normally be considered stable. This applies even if the condition is improving because the risk becomes more unknown - insurance likes stability and known risks.

 

Pre-existing condition coverage eligibility can also be dependent on when the insurance is purchased, that time period too can vary amongst policies. My last policy required I purchase within 48 hours of the first non-refundable payment. The policy I currently have required purchase within 72 hours of first (any) payment, refundable or not.

 

Regarding the continuation of a course of treatment while on vacation, insurance is for unforeseen events.

 

There is a lot of information available at tripinsurancestore (purchased through them once and helpful personal service) and insuremytrip (no personal experience other than to have read helpful to me examples) and CC has an article here: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274

 

As the consequences of an insurance purchase can be significant I think it is best to get personal advice from an expert, not me.

[UDSpud]

Comment on forgetting correct number of pills. 1. I always take two complete sets of pills, so if I lose one early on, I will have enough for the rest of the trip. I also make sure they travel in separate places (wife's purse and my carry on bag).

 

Second, know from your doctor if you can cut pills and 1/2 dose if necessary. Most foreign drug stores sell pill cutters.

[YoHoHo]

Comment on forgetting correct number of pills. 1. I always take two complete sets of pills, so if I lose one early on, I will have enough for the rest of the trip. I also make sure they travel in separate places (wife's purse and my carry on bag).

 

Second, know from your doctor if you can cut pills and 1/2 dose if necessary. Most foreign drug stores sell pill cutters.

I do the same. If practical, shortly before the trip I get a renewal filled, remove what I won't need and then pack that and the old medication in separate carry-ones. Both then are in their original containers. The are pretty common, not controlled or such, but makes me feel better.

 

 

That is a great idea to check with the doctor about 1/2 dosing for a short period if an emergency. I'll have to remember that when going for the early renewal.

[tv24]

Anticipate extreme expenses on Oceania. My husband fell in Alicante and got pretty beat up, nothing broken. We took a cab back to the Marina and went directly to the clinic on board. He got very good care, got bandaged up and the bleeding under control. The whole visit took about 20 minutes. And then there was a 5-minute follow up a few days later. The entire bill was over $900! Way more than we have paid for care of respiratory problems on Crystal (about $175) and Cunard (about $150).. Unfortunately our HMO denied our insurance claim, so now we have filed with our insurance that we purchased from Oceania and await the resolution.

 

When we first went to the Marina clinic, we were warned by the nurse that the charges would be very high. Boy was she right! And then after the second visit when the amount was disclosed, the nurse admitted that the amount was high but was due to the fact that Oceania was an American company. All of the medical staff were Eastern European.

 

Back in the day when I was working in financial services, I would have been thrilled to earn $900+ for 25 minutes work!

[robbie21]

Anticipate extreme expenses on Oceania. My husband fell in Alicante and got pretty beat up, nothing broken. We took a cab back to the Marina and went directly to the clinic on board. He got very good care, got bandaged up and the bleeding under control. The whole visit took about 20 minutes. And then there was a 5-minute follow up a few days later. The entire bill was over $900! Way more than we have paid for care of respiratory problems on Crystal (about $175) and Cunard (about $150).. Unfortunately our HMO denied our insurance claim, so now we have filed with our insurance that we purchased from Oceania and await the resolution.

 

When we first went to the Marina clinic, we were warned by the nurse that the charges would be very high. Boy was she right! And then after the second visit when the amount was disclosed, the nurse admitted that the amount was high but was due to the fact that Oceania was an American company. All of the medical staff were Eastern European.

 

Back in the day when I was working in financial services, I would have been thrilled to earn $900+ for 25 minutes work!

 

When you worked in Financial services did you personally receive all the charges to your clients? I think not. A portion went for rent; amortization of computers, telephones and other services; all the pretty brochures to advertise your business; your secretary and the janitor that cleaned your office. You paid way more for the overhead than for the doctor. By the way, it would seem to me you got emergency room service without the typical long wait for about the same price.

 

 

A medical clinic is no different than any other business and in fact, some of the required medical equipment is quite expensive. On a ship some equipment and supplies, while required by regulation or prudence, may be very underutilized. When I was running a medical clinic I could amortize the cost of an expensive piece of equipment over perhaps 10 doctors ordering 25 to 50 tests per day. On a ship that same equipment might be used 3 or 4 times a day. It still costs the same it just doesn't pay for itself as fast or as often. On a ship certain supplies are required for potential emergencies and often expire without being used and must be discarded and replaced. Another unique cost.

 

Based on my experience I rather doubt the Oceania shipboard medical clinics are better than breakeven operations if even that.

 

Robbie

Edited February 13, 2018 by robbie21
Adding comment

[tv24]

When you worked in Financial services did you personally receive all the charges to your clients? I think not. A portion went for rent; amortization of computers, telephones and other services; all the pretty brochures to advertise your business; your secretary and the janitor that cleaned your office. You paid way more for the overhead than for the doctor. By the way, it would seem to me you got emergency room service without the typical long wait for about the same price.

 

 

A medical clinic is no different than any other business and in fact, some of the required medical equipment is quite expensive. On a ship some equipment and supplies, while required by regulation or prudence, may be very underutilized. When I was running a medical clinic I could amortize the cost of an expensive piece of equipment over perhaps 10 doctors ordering 25 to 50 tests per day. On a ship that same equipment might be used 3 or 4 times a day. It still costs the same it just doesn't pay for itself as fast or as often. On a ship certain supplies are required for potential emergencies and often expire without being used and must be discarded and replaced. Another unique cost.

 

Based on my experience I rather doubt the Oceania shipboard medical clinics are better than breakeven operations if even that.

 

Robbie

 

Thank you for your expert analysis of overhead expenses. But I still stand by my comment that our personal experience was that medical services on Oceania were way more expensive than medical services on Crystal and on Cunard. Oh, and I forgot Seabourn where I was treated for about $150.

[robbie21]

Thank you for your expert analysis of overhead expenses. But I still stand by my comment that our personal experience was that medical services on Oceania were way more expensive than medical services on Crystal and on Cunard. Oh, and I forgot Seabourn where I was treated for about $150.

 

I would presume that Crystal, etc. subsidize their medical service out of general fare revenue, perhaps for customer relations reasons. Those are all inclusive luxury line so it makes sense for them to include medical service at a nominal fee. In that case you pay, of course, as part of your fare, but you still pay. For them it is strictly a business decision but one may safely assume they are not losing money overall;). On Oceania you pay for medical only if you use the services but if you don't need them you don't pay for them. That policy, among many others, like "free" booze, permits Oceania to offer a somewhat lower fare. Again, a business decision consistent with their overall marketing strategy.

 

 

Always buy travel insurance with good medical coverage :).

[happy cruzer]

Thank you for your expert analysis of overhead expenses. But I still stand by my comment that our personal experience was that medical services on Oceania were way more expensive than medical services on Crystal and on Cunard. Oh, and I forgot Seabourn where I was treated for about $150.

Thank you for sharing your actual experience. After reading other reports from other lines, I too think O might be higher than average for a cruise line. Travel insurance will help cover the cost but many reimburse costs so we do need to know just what may appear on the credit card for awhile. Also not all medical costs are covered by insurance. For example, if you are deemed to have an accident caused by alcohol (none of us here of course :) ) many policies exclude coverage. Always helpful to have actual experiences shared. Thanks.

[njhorseman]

We spoke to several passengers on our Marina cruise who were xrayed and treated treated with IV antibiotics for respiratory infections and were billed between $7,000 and $8,500 each.

[tv24]

Thank you for sharing your actual experience. After reading other reports from other lines, I too think O might be higher than average for a cruise line. Travel insurance will help cover the cost but many reimburse costs so we do need to know just what may appear on the credit card for awhile. Also not all medical costs are covered by insurance. For example, if you are deemed to have an accident caused by alcohol (none of us here of course :) ) many policies exclude coverage. Always helpful to have actual experiences shared. Thanks.

 

You're welcome...just one party's experience.

[tv24]

We spoke to several passengers on our Marina cruise who were xrayed and treated treated with IV antibiotics for respiratory infections and were billed between $7,000 and $8,500 each.

 

Ouch!

[janecambridge]

We spoke to several passengers on our Marina cruise who were xrayed and treated treated with IV antibiotics for respiratory infections and were billed between $7,000 and $8,500 each.

 

Ditto.

One couple,he had chest infection and his costs were $9400 and she had a bowel infection,her costs were $6000.

I had a visit to the clinic and being a nurse,I queried all the medication they wanted to give me.I refused intravenous nausea and intravenous and oral pain relief as I had no pain and no nausea.These items were both on my final bill but the cost came out at zero.I did wonder if they were automatically given to other passengers,regardless.

I was fortunate to be able to do this.I have just accepted the bill and dealt with it.The medication I did receive worked immediately and enabled me to get on with the trip.