Most people who travel for treatment spend weeks comparing surgeons and prices, and about ten minutes thinking about what happens if something goes wrong at 2 a.m. in a city where they do not speak the language. An emergency plan fixes that imbalance. It is a short written document, built at home while you are calm, that tells you and anyone with you exactly what to do, who to call and where to go if recovery stops going to plan.
This guide is about building that document before the procedure: what goes on it, how to fill the gaps while you still have time, and how to make sure it works when your phone battery is low or your coordinator is not answering. For what to do in the moment itself, see our guide to emergency protocols and embassy contacts.
Why the plan has to exist before the procedure
After surgery you may be in pain, drowsy from medication, or simply exhausted. That is the worst time to be searching for a hospital address or working out which insurance number to ring. Decisions made in advance, with a clear head, are better decisions.
There is also a reason that is specific to traveling for care. The U.S. State Department's Colombia travel advisory (State Department, 2026) notes that hospitals may ask for payment up front, that credit cards may not be accepted, and that staff may speak little English. None of those problems can be solved quickly in a crisis. All of them can be planned for.
Surgeons' own guidance points the same way. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons' practice reference on appropriate care of patients traveling for surgery (ASPS, 2024) asks the operating surgeon to evaluate the local care available and tell the patient what to do if a complication needs urgent attention. Treat that as a question you are entitled to ask, and write the answer down.
The one-page plan: what goes on it
Keep it to a single page if you can. A page you can read in thirty seconds beats a binder nobody opens. Organise it into five blocks.
1. Who you are
- Full legal name exactly as on your passport, date of birth and passport number.
- Allergies, and every regular medication with its dose, listed by generic name.
- Relevant conditions, for example diabetes, sleep apnea, a clotting disorder or a heart rhythm problem.
- The procedure, the date, the operating surgeon's full name and the anesthesia type you were told to expect.
2. Where you will be
- The exact facility where the procedure takes place, with street address and main phone line.
- Where you will sleep on each night of recovery, with the address written out in full.
- The hospital the treating team would send you to if you needed a higher level of care. This is often a different building from the clinic, so get its name and address separately.
3. Who to call, in order
- The clinic's or surgeon's after-hours clinical number, not only the sales coordinator's chat account.
- Local emergency numbers. The State Department advisory lists 123 for emergency police assistance in Colombia; ask your clinic or lodging which number to use for an ambulance where you are staying.
- Your insurer's 24-hour assistance line and your policy number.
- Your embassy or consulate. For U.S. citizens in Colombia, the same advisory lists the embassy's after-hours line as +57-601-275-2000.
- One person at home who has agreed to act as your point of contact.
4. How you will pay
Write down which cards you are carrying, which one has the highest limit, and how your home contact could send money if needed. More on this below.
5. What counts as "go now"
Before the procedure, ask your treating team which symptoms mean you should go straight to an emergency department rather than send a message and wait for a reply. Write their answer on the plan, in their words. Our guide to post-procedure warning signs covers symptoms in depth; the point here is to have your own team's thresholds on paper before you need them.
Filling the gaps: questions to send before you book flights
When you draft the page, some lines will be blank. Those blanks are your to-do list. Send these questions in writing and keep the replies.
| Blank on the plan | Question to send | A useful answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Escalation hospital | "If I needed admission, which hospital would I go to, and how would I get there?" | A named hospital and a description of how transfer works. |
| After-hours contact | "Who answers at night, and are they clinically trained?" | A number answered by a nurse or doctor, not only a coordinator. |
| Language at night | "If I am admitted overnight, who will interpret for me?" | A concrete arrangement, not "everyone speaks English." |
| Payment | "Would the escalation hospital need a deposit, and in what form?" | A clear answer, or the hospital's billing contact so you can ask directly. |
| Your thresholds | "Which symptoms mean I should not wait for a reply?" | A short, specific list you can copy onto the page. |
If a clinic cannot tell you where you would go in an emergency, that silence is itself information. Whether the backup is on site or across town matters more for some procedures than others; see what emergency backup your procedure actually needs.
Money and insurance: the part people skip
The State Department's page on health abroad (State Department, 2025) is blunt. The U.S. government does not pay medical bills abroad, Medicare does not cover care outside the United States, and an air ambulance can cost from $20,000 to $200,000 (USD) depending on location and condition. An embassy can help you find local doctors, contact family with your permission and explain ways to receive money, but it cannot settle your bill.
So the plan should answer three money questions in writing: which policy covers you, what number activates it, and how you would pay a deposit tonight if the insurer has not yet confirmed anything. Practical steps:
- Carry two payment cards from different banks and keep them in different places.
- Know your daily card and withdrawal limits before you leave.
- Agree with your home contact how they would send funds if you asked.
- Put your insurer's assistance number and policy number on the page, and give them to your companion and family. The UK government's foreign travel insurance guidance (GOV.UK, 2024) recommends exactly that.
Insurance products differ far more than their names suggest. Our guide explaining why travel insurance, evacuation and complication coverage are different products walks through the gaps.
Give your companion a job description
If someone travels with you, they are the person who will actually use this plan. Give them their own copy and go through it together before the procedure, not in the recovery room.
- Agree who makes phone calls if you cannot.
- Make sure the clinic has your companion's name and your permission to share information with them, in writing if the clinic asks for it.
- Show them where your passport, cards, medicines and documents are kept.
- Agree what they will tell your family, and how often.
Traveling alone makes the plan more important, not less. Choose a home contact who will check in at set times, give the clinic their details, and agree that a missed check-in means they ring the clinic.
Make it work offline
- Print two copies: one in the bag you take to the procedure, one with your companion or at your lodging.
- Keep a version on your phone that opens without data, such as a downloaded PDF or a photo.
- Save every address on the page as an offline map pin.
- Write a few phrases in the local language on the back, such as "I had surgery on [date] at [clinic]," "I need a hospital" and "I am allergic to …".
- Pack a charger and a small power bank in that same bag.
Before you leave home: register and check the advisory
The CDC Yellow Book chapter on medical tourism (CDC, 2026) advises checking current State Department safety information before deciding to travel and enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), so you receive alerts for the area you will be in. The Colombia advisory currently sits at Level 3, "Reconsider Travel," in its March 2026 update, and it also suggests sharing your itinerary with friends or family and agreeing an "alert word" for emergencies. Levels change, so read the live page shortly before you fly rather than relying on any article, including this one.
In the final week before departure:
- Finish the page and send a copy to your home contact.
- Confirm the after-hours number by calling it once.
- Check that your insurance start date covers your travel dates.
- Enroll in STEP or your own country's equivalent registration service.
- Pack medicines in original packaging with a list of generic names.
Rehearse it once
Spend fifteen minutes running a scenario with your companion. "It is midnight on day three, you have a fever, and the clinic line is not answering. What happens next?" Walk through the page line by line. Any point where either of you hesitates is a gap to fix before you fly. The same exercise works over a video call with a home contact if you are going alone.
Keep it current as the trip changes
Plans drift. You may move lodging, the date may shift, or a different clinician may take over part of your care. Each time something changes, update the page and resend it. On the day you are discharged, add the discharge contact, the time of your next check-up and any new medicines. That updated page then becomes the first thing you hand a doctor at home if you need one later.
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Start from safemedicaltravel.coFrequently asked questions
Do I need my own plan if the clinic has a coordinator?
Yes. A coordinator is one point of contact who may be asleep, busy or off shift when you need help. Your plan lists several routes to help, including clinical contacts, emergency numbers and your insurer, so no single person is a point of failure.
What if the clinic will not name an escalation hospital?
Ask again in writing and explain that you need it for your insurer and your companion. A team that has thought about emergencies can usually answer quickly. If it still cannot, treat that as a reason to pause your booking rather than something to sort out after you arrive.
Should the plan be written in English or the local language?
Both, where it matters. Keep the main page in the language you and your companion read most easily, and add the key details in the local language: your procedure, allergies, medicines and a request to be taken to a hospital. Anyone helping you can then read the essentials at a glance.
Who should hold a copy?
You, your companion if you have one, your home contact and, if you are comfortable with it, your lodging. Keep one paper copy in the bag you take to the procedure and one version on your phone that opens without mobile data.
Can the embassy pay my hospital bill or arrange an air ambulance?
No. The U.S. State Department says the U.S. government does not pay medical bills abroad. An embassy can help you find local doctors, contact family with your permission and explain ways to receive money. Paying for care and transport is down to you and your insurance, which is why the money section of the plan matters.
Sources
This site provides general information and lead-routing services, not medical advice. Provider introductions may be compensated. Verify credentials, facility status, pricing and clinical recommendations independently. Do not delay urgent or necessary medical care because of information on this site.