ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the roles and responsibilities of both the office medical staff and inflight repatriation personnel, and discusses the problems that may be encountered in the planning and execution of an assignment. To facilitate a successful repatriation, medical personnel must work closely with operations staff (who provide linguistic expertise and act as contacts with local agents, and so on) and travel experts (who find the most appropriate and available travel options, arrange ticketing, and obtain medical clearance from the airline, if needed). Obviously it is essential to have good, clear clinical information about the subject patient. There are a number of ways of achieving this, and the most immediate is by telephone. Some referring doctors give excellent medical reports of their own volition, but it is a mistake to rely too heavily on information given solely by the overseas doctor.
