Merchant Navy

Telehealth gives merchant seamen access to available medical care

For maritime workers, sea crews, and cruise liner passengers, access to medical services while at sea is virtually impossible. Most seafaring vessels carrying a small crew do not have a medical doctor onboard. Each year, medical emergencies on the seas force one-in-five ships to divert from their course, at an average cost of $180,000 per diversion (according to Infinite Healthcare). Twenty percent of these are later found to be non-critical and could have been avoided by using telehealth assistance.

If injury or illness occurs at sea, there is a concern about how seafarers receive adequate care.

Using cutting-edge technology and CENSON Health’s smartphone telehealth software, crew members can contact a doctor via video conferencing, and capture high-quality images, videos, and patient vitals. This data allows the doctor to make an informed decision as to whether the patient is well enough for the ship to continue to the next port, whether the ship needs to divert, or whether a helicopter evacuation is required.