A Passport to Good Health

Passwords, codes, ID names... we've so much to store and remember in the task of managing our daily lives. And for expats there's probably more than most to juggle as they deal with the essentials of being in different locations.

How many of us remember our health/medical data? Aviva reports that our medical records are not automatically transferred overseas when people move to live or work abroad. Which means many of the 5.5m Brits living away from Britain are at risk of finding themselves on foreign shores without a record of their vital health statistics.

The following key findings show why Aviva has produced My Health Passport which lets expats travel with their own medical records.

• 69% of people don’t know their blood pressure
• 63% don’t know their blood group
• 50% of respondents are either not up-to-date with their tetanus/diphtheria vaccinations, or don’t know whether they are up to date with their injections
•  nearly one in five women (18%) don’t know when they had their last smear test
• over a third (35%) have struggled to remember their medical history when they’ve changed GP as a result of a house move.

This handy document is available in two formats. There's a short downloadable version capturing information such as personal details, blood group, illnesses, GP and insurance provider contact details; and a printed booklet which relays more comprehensive health information, including details relating to screenings, vaccinations, operations and wellness checks. 

Teresa Rogers, Business Lead for International PMI at Aviva, says, “Being an international medical insurance provider, we know that a large number of people require medical care while abroad. But, unfortunately, medical records are not easily accessible, particularly as they aren’t automatically transferred by your GP.  Easy access to personal health information can be vital, particularly in a medical emergency situation or when visiting a GP or pharmacist abroad.”

Aviva’s My Health Passport can be downloaded via Aviva and a printed version can be requested here.