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Is a doctor in the house?
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January 14, 1998: 7:55 p.m. ET
Specialized medical firms help travelers when illness strikes far from home
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NEW YORK (Biztravel.com) - It's one of life's most miserable feelings: you're away on business with important meetings to conduct or presentations to give when your body suddenly fails you. Sometimes, of course, you can tough it out by taking over-the-counter remedies to ease your symptoms.
But what if you need real medical help?
Once upon a time, first-class hotels cultivated relationships with local doctors who would call on sick guests. But as medical costs have skyrocketed and liability concerns have come to the fore, such arrangements have largely fallen by the wayside. At the same time, emergency rooms are costly and time consuming, and last-minute doctor appointments are nearly unheard of.
But now some firms have begun to offer sick travelers an alternative. HotelDocs in La Jolla, Calif. is one of the largest such organizations, boasting a presence in more than 140 U.S. cities. The service maintains a toll-free number that can put travelers in touch with a central switchboard operator around-the-clock.
When travelers call, they relay their symptoms and a brief medical history to an operator, who then matches that information with HotelDocs' database of approximately 1,500 physicians, including both general practitioners and specialists, such as ophthalmologists, dentists, and chiropractors.
Founder and President Ian Becker insists that within 35 minutes of receiving a call, HotelDocs will send an "appropriate" doctor to the patient's hotel room. "We offer 100 percent satisfaction or it's free."
The basic cost for a HotelDocs visit is $150, which covers the cost of the examination and the diagnosis, but not medication or supplies such as bandages. And although travelers must pay the attending physician out of pocket, the costs are often reimbursable through health insurance. Moreover, Becker adds that "insurance companies or HMOs are beginning to tell their people about us because we are much cheaper than emergency rooms."
Walter Krause, founder and president of Boston-based Inn-House Doctor, says his firm - which operates in Boston, Las Vegas and Palm Springs - takes a slightly different approach. When travelers call the service, the operator pages a physician immediately. The caller then gives his or her symptoms to the doctor rather than to the operator.
"You'll be speaking to the doctor that will be taking care of you within five to ten minutes, and the physician will probably be there within the hour," Krause says. "If you're traveling and you have, say, a urinary tract infection, with good clinical skills and judgment we can take care of you quickly and efficiently."
As with HotelDocs, the Inn-House Doctor basic charge starts at $150.
In some locales, business travelers have other options. For example, if you become sick at the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, you're in luck. The 2,700-room resort has the Resort Medical Center, an independent, on-site medical facility which treats hotel guests and employees.
Travelers who become ill while attending a convention or trade show at New Orleans' Morial Convention Center will also find help readily available. Since 1992, the center has charged trade show managers a medical services surcharge. Under an agreement with Tulane University Hospital, the Morial Center maintains two fully equipped and staffed medical stations at the center for the duration of any show. The personnel are trained for all types of medical emergencies, from indigestion to cardiac arrest. 
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