Help Your Patients Stay Healthy on Their Cruise Vacation: Suggestions for Primary Care Physicians from a Cruise Ship Physician.

Abstract

During my 12 years of experience in caring for critically ill patients on cruise ships, I have learned that good advice and preparation by primary care physicians before sailing can prevent life-threatening situations from occurring when their patients are at sea. Because cruise travel is a rapidly growing industry with estimates of more than 27 million passengers having sailed worldwide in 2018,1 there is a high likelihood that 1 or more of your patients will be planning a cruise vacation. This underscores the importance for you to understand cruise ship-related health issues so that you can provide meaningful precruise advice and patient education. Although cruises are relaxing and enjoyable, this changes quickly when a patient becomes seriously ill while on an ocean cruise, and the needed health care at sea may be several hours or even days away. This differs from the readily accessible care that may be found in most places at home. This fact is generally not well appreciated by primary care physicians, who at times are asked to give approval for their patients with unstable medical conditions to go on a cruise. For this reason, primary care physicians are the first line of defense to make certain that a seemingly minor health problem does not become a life-threatening emergency in the middle of the ocean. To assist you in having an informed precruise dialogue with your patients, the following article provides an overview of the health care capabilities of a typical cruise ship, which is then followed by specific suggestions I believe will help you educate your patients so they can stay healthy and enjoy their cruises.