It's your money. Money you could spend on a special experience during your trip...but you made the choice to spend a bit on the insurance a travel consult provides. But did you know that anyone can open a travel health clinic? Of course you need to be a doctor or nurse practitioner to write prescriptions, but no special training is required. Clinics are not required to use any speicialized resources or take continuing education (which is essential in this constantly changing field).
There are many quality clinics out there, but there are questions you can ask to be sure you are getting the best value for your money: 1) What training do you have in travel medicine? 2) Do you use resources besides those publicly available on the internet? 3) How do you stay up to date? Do you attend conferences, maintain memberships etc? 4) What happens if I need to follow up after my appointment? Will I have access to my practitioner?
You can also check the International Society of Travel Medicine website www.istm.org for clinics that are affiliated with that society. It's not a requirement, but it's a good indicator that your clinic takes travel medicine seriously and is not just dabbling in it for the extra revenue.
Do your homework on the clinic you are visiting, and hopefully you have a great experience!
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