New Cleveland Clinic partnership to provide international travelers medical care

As every parent who’s waved nervously from the dock as their teenager speeds off on a Jet Ski knows, accidents can happen. And when that Jet Ski is zipping away in another country, there’s even more to worry about. Dealing with an injury or illness when traveling, especially abroad, can be complicated, costly, and stressful.

Those scenarios are what Virginia-based Global Guardian was founded in 2012 to address. The global security and evacuation services firm and Cleveland Clinic announced a partnership on May 13 to extend customers’ access to the health system.

This comes as more hospitals are branching out and expanding their patient bases, especially in the telehealth age, with competitors like Amazon One Medical reaching patients all over the country and on demand.

Called the Cleveland Clinic Global MedConnect program, the partnership will provide users with security assistance, health alerts, and crisis response services, according to a release. It will also offer medical consultation as well as air and ground evacuation to Cleveland Clinic facilities around the world. As of 2023, the Business Journals reported that Global Guardian made $70 million in revenue. Annual family plans cost $405 and single coverage costs $280, per the company’s website.

“Under this platform, we, Global Guardian, will fly out anywhere you want. But if you want the best specialist in the world—for heart, for cancer, for lungs, for bone, for eyesight—at no additional cost, you now have direct access to the Cleveland Clinic,” Dale Buckner, Global Guardian’s CEO, told us.

Companies like Global Rescue offer similar medevac services, helping transport patients in medical need while traveling abroad.

What’s new? Global Guardian has long provided its members crisis response and evacuation services. The company is a duty of care services provider, meaning that it provides services to protect its customers’ safety and health during travel. What’s different now is that customers can consult with specialists at Cleveland Clinic, which has locations in Ohio, Florida, and Nevada along with facilities in London, Canada, and Abu Dhabi.

If a patient is hurt abroad, for example, Global Guardian will coordinate with local healthcare providers, and when necessary, contact Cleveland Clinic specialists for additional healthcare advice. Global Guardian also has a 24/7/365 operations center that can coordinate transportation, including flying a patient to a Cleveland Clinic hospital.

“If a traveler is already receiving treatment, we can help them better understand the recommendations they’re receiving, ensure important questions are being addressed, and provide additional clinical perspective when appropriate,” Shelly Weisenfeld, medical director at Global Guardian, said in an email. “The goal is not to replace local healthcare providers but to help travelers make informed medical decisions and navigate the healthcare system with confidence wherever they are in the world.”

Over the last few years, Cleveland Clinic has been expanding its number of facilities and liaisons overseas, including in El Salvador and Uzbekistan.

“At Cleveland Clinic, our mission is to provide the highest-quality care to patients, wherever they are,” Tommaso Falcone, Cleveland Clinic’s EVP and president of international and emerging markets, said in a release.