NCL in the News For Medical Staff Issue

This news story was the top story for The New Orleans Advocate. Never had to use the medical staff while onboard a cruise ship. I hope this is not an industry-wide issue. They do not mention the ship, just NCL.

http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_8a64565c-0d4e-11e8-9440-a77dd663bef0.html

This is horrible and so terrifying. I can't imagine how painful that must have been. Hopefully there isn't any permanent damage.

Everyone who usually just comments "should have bought insurance" can back away from this one because they did and it still didn't help them.

What a nightmare.

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This is horrible and so terrifying. I can't imagine how painful that must have been. Hopefully there isn't any permanent damage.

 

Everyone who usually just comments "should have bought insurance" can back away from this one because they did and it still didn't help them.

 

What a nightmare.

 

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Agreed. How does NCL staff not know how to use their own insurance?!! It’s not like it was a third party insurance bought.

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Agreed. How does NCL staff not know how to use their own insurance?!! It’s not like it was a third party insurance bought.

 

 

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I believe it’s still a third party insurance, you get reimbursed after you pay OOP. I also thought the medical center is like the shops and spa, a vendor that has a contract with NCL.

I believe it’s still a third party insurance, you get reimbursed after you pay OOP. I also thought the medical center is like the shops and spa, a vendor that has a contract with NCL.

This is absolutely correct. The process is identical to if you went out-of-network shoreside. You pay first, and then request reimbursement. Sounds to me that the passengers made assumptions and did not understand how the policy worked.

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This is absolutely correct. The process is identical to if you went out-of-network shoreside. You pay first, and then request reimbursement. Sounds to me that the passengers made assumptions and did not understand how the policy worked.

Yes. When i was on the breakaway in November , i had to go the medical center a few times. I paid everything out of pocket first. when i got home, i filed the paperwork with the insurance and gave them copy's of everything. a few weeks later, i got the reimbursement check . very easy process

Ouch! That sucks! I know how painful that can be. I cut my foot open on glass once, and after being stitched up, it kept feeling worse and worse. Turns out there was a nice chunk of glass sewn up in there. Yikes!

I am not saying that the essential facts are wrong, but it is a poorly researched article. As others have mentioned, it is usual to pay and then get reimbursed by your insurer. Here's another article, from Consumer Reports dated 2015.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-medical-care-on-cruise-ships/index.htm

As far as I’m concerned the insurance aspect of this story is secondary to the fact that the wound wasn’t cleaned and inspected properly and that pieces of coral were stitched up inside the wound causing a serious infection. He also had a severed tendon. That’s incompetent medical care he received on the ship.

What?

2 weeks after the cruise he got an Infection.:confused:

And Never went to his own doctor.:eek:

"Aymond's worst wound become infected two weeks later. The couple rushed to a Baton Rouge hospital when the foot swelled and a rash crept up his leg. The surgeon found two pieces of coral sewn inside Brant’s foot, along with a severed tendon, the report says."

As far as I’m concerned the insurance aspect of this story is secondary to the fact that the wound wasn’t cleaned and inspected properly and that pieces of coral were stitched up inside the wound causing a serious infection. He also had a severed tendon. That’s incompetent medical care he received on the ship.

 

If the doctor wasn't able to address his needs, they should have been upfront and told the patient that he should get to a land based hospital ASAP. Who knows what kind of lasting damage treatment like that could cause. So scary.

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I fell when off the ship on our last cruise and before I got up I was praying it wasn't anything serious. I was pretty badly bruised and cut up but I bring a first aid kit with me even onshore and got myself pretty well cleaned up.This sounds like a really badly managed injury to me. The infected cut is bad enough but a severed tendon?

I think it's just medical incompetence, and incompetent doctors often don't know they are incompetent. The doctor probably thought he could address the needs of the patient. I don't think it's a case of the doctor "not being honest" ... he was simply incompetent. The American College of Emergency Physicians lists the qualifications that NCL requires for doctors employed by ships:

Physicians are expected to be conversant in English, hold a medical degree from a recognized college or university and a current valid medical license (international or US), and maintain certification in advanced cardiac life support. They must hold board certification or similar international certification in emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, or general practice. The Ship's Physician must have at least three years of postgraduate experience.

It happens with doctors in America too, not just with Mexican doctors on a cruise ship.

Always with the victim blaming on this site. SMH.

 

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Are you literally shaking your head in a side to side manner or just sort of cyber shaking your head?

A severed tendon and he could walk around? A antibiotic used for gastrointestinal problems (which was probably a broad spectrum antibiotic that could be used for various problems)?

Just a little drama here and a lot missing from the story.

What?

 

2 weeks after the cruise he got an Infection.:confused:

 

 

 

And Never went to his own doctor.:eek:

 

 

 

 

 

"Aymond's worst wound become infected two weeks later. The couple rushed to a Baton Rouge hospital when the foot swelled and a rash crept up his leg. The surgeon found two pieces of coral sewn inside Brant’s foot, along with a severed tendon, the report says."

If you thought you had gotten medical care, why would you go to your doctor? It was presumably just a cut. If I got cut at home and went to an ER or urgent care, got examined, stitched up, and send home with an antibiotic; I would expect it to heal without issue at that point. The care he got was inexcusable, but unfortunately, that isn’t limited to cruise ship doctors.

When I was a teen I broke my wrist skiing. We went to an urgent care (didn’t know it was broken) and they found the break on a X Ray. He put a temporary cast on, sent me home to follow up with their orthopedist in the morning. My parents called first thing in the morning only to find out that their orthopedist was on vacation and they offered no alternatives. Finally found an orthopedist that could get me in that day and the break was worse that the urgent care doc had let on. They said he should have sent me to the ER ASAP and that now the bones could never be set completely straight without breaking it again. My wrist has been crooked ever since.

Sometimes doctors make mistakes and medical care is never risk free. But then again, life is never risk free to begin with.

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Always with the victim blaming on this site. SMH.

 

I am not saying that the essential facts are wrong, but it is a poorly researched article. As others have mentioned, it is usual to pay and then get reimbursed by your insurer. Here's another article, from Consumer Reports dated 2015.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-medical-care-on-cruise-ships/index.htm

Thanks for the link; it really helps explain and gives good information about this issue.

It is a buyer beware.

IMHO it may be a good idea ask where the 'physician' is licensed to practice, USA? It may give an idea of a level of education etc. A 'dr' educated in some countries do not have anywhere near what is required to practice in the USA.

This poor man is a good example of the need for follow-up with your own physician ASAP when injured etc. and treated away from home.

Safe sailing! :)

This is horrible. This right here is why I would never take an infant on a cruise ship. That poor guy!

If you thought you had gotten medical care, why would you go to your doctor? It was presumably just a cut. If I got cut at home and went to an ER or urgent care, got examined, stitched up, and send home with an antibiotic; I would expect it to heal without issue at that point. The care he got was inexcusable, but unfortunately, that isn’t limited to cruise ship doctors.

 

When I was a teen I broke my wrist skiing. We went to an urgent care (didn’t know it was broken) and they found the break on a X Ray. He put a temporary cast on, sent me home to follow up with their orthopedist in the morning. My parents called first thing in the morning only to find out that their orthopedist was on vacation and they offered no alternatives. Finally found an orthopedist that could get me in that day and the break was worse that the urgent care doc had let on. They said he should have sent me to the ER ASAP and that now the bones could never be set completely straight without breaking it again. My wrist has been crooked ever since.

 

Sometimes doctors make mistakes and medical care is never risk free. But then again, life is never risk free to begin with.

 

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I go to My DR. for Everthing.

If I got cut at home and went to an ER or urgent care, got examined, stitched up, and send home with an antibiotic;

I would also go to My DR. ask her look at it and ask when SHE can take out the stitches.

A severed tendon and he could walk around? A antibiotic used for gastrointestinal problems (which was probably a broad spectrum antibiotic that could be used for various problems)?

 

Just a little drama here and a lot missing from the story.

Gotta love the armchair doctors :rolleyes:

Are you literally shaking your head in a side to side manner or just sort of cyber shaking your head?

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Not sure what people expect of the medical care on a ship. It is FIRST AID, not long term care. I cannot imagine being injured that severely and not visiting my personal physician as soon as I got home, especially if the injury was still painful.

The ships do not have a facilities to explore a wound, and many antibiotics are broad spectrum and while they may usually be used to treat one thing in the US, in another country they might be used for something else.

The article is nothing more than an example of an entitled society refusing to accept responsibility for their own short comings.

Coral cuts can be very dangerous & have a high risk for infection. However, the infection wouldn't suddenly appear after two weeks - there were surely signs before that. It must have been a miserable time for the poor man. You can walk with a severed tendon (although you shouldn't) & I'm sure he put off going to the hospital as long as he could, hoping that his wounds would sort themselves out.

If nothing else, this story serves as a reminder to always read insurance paperwork very carefully, and not to think of the ship doctor as a "real doctor," so to speak. That was certainly substandard medical care if compared to what one would expect from a land-based facility.