TRAVEL HEALTH CLINIC

WHY USE A TRAVEL MEDICINE CLINIC?

When you travel to an international destination for vacation, personal reasons, business meetings, or academic pursuits, you may be exposed to infectious diseases not present in your everyday environment. A Travel medicine clinic can provide vaccinations and medications as preventative measures.  This is the best way to reduce the likelihood of disruption from illness while you travel.  A Travel Clinic can also help prepare you for your trip by providing awareness, education, and resources to stay healthy and safe throughout your trip!

Travel Consultation?

A Travel Consultation conducted by our in-house Physician, Nurse Practitioner or Pharmacist (depending on requirements or requests) provides a personalized risk-assessment specific to you and your travel plans.  Our practitioner will educate you on health risks and precautions related to your destination and itinerary and recommend preventative travel medications and vaccines tailored to you and your itinerary. Our Pelham Hills pharmacist will also be able to recommend a range of other travel related items such as first aid, over the counter medications, travel sized essentials and more in the rest of the store!

Global Awareness?

Pelham Hills Pharmacy provides patients with the latest Health Alerts, issued by the Canadian government and the PHAC, for their destination country(s).   All health alerts and travel tips are also put in context for the patient. Clinicians consider everything from the patient’s itinerary, to eating and drinking strategies, to accommodations to make the most targeted recommendations.

Booking Your Appointment

Appointments are typically 30 minutes long and scheduled on the following days:

• Physician or Nurse Practitioner: Wednesdays and Fridays 1:00pm to 3:00pm
• Pharmacist: Tuesdays and Fridays 3:00pm to 5:00pm
• Exceptions can be made to accommodate specific circumstances.

Once you have booked your appointment, you will be asked to complete a travel consult form. This form should be completed and forwarded to the clinic several days before your appointment.

On the day of the appointment, you should bring (if available):

• a complete list of all medications you take including non-prescription medications, vitamins and supplements.
• Your travel itinerary.
• any extended health care benefits card.

Prescriptions, Devices & Medication

Our Travel Medicine team member can recommend travel vaccines and/or medications to help you stay safe while travelling. Our pharmacist can also help you get prescriptions for travel vaccines and medications.  For those that are driving or flying, we recommend compression stockings to help minimize the possibility of a blood clot.  Compression stocking are available with (20-30mmHg) or without (15-20mmHg) a prescription and may be covered by your private health insurance plan.

Where can I go for these specialized medications?

For your convenience, our clinic partner is Pelham Hills Pharmacy (in the same space as the Travel Medicine Clinic).  This means that after your in-person or telephone consult (with the doctor or nurse practitioner), you would then see the on-site pharmacist who provides and administers the recommended or prescribed vaccinations or oral medications.  These items are specifically kept in stock so to provide our clients with truly seamless care!

Health Insurance

Although travel medicine is not covered under OHIP, many extended health insurance plans will provide reimbursement for travel vaccines and medications. If you have a health spending account, this can be used to cover the cost of the doctor’s visit itself.

Please Note:

• Ideally, travel consultations should occur six weeks before departure to allow time for some vaccines and medications to take effect. If travel is scheduled for less than six weeks from now, our team can still provide recommendations on vaccines and medications and educate you on health risks.
• Age for pediatric vaccine administration is subject to provincial regulation and clinical guidelines.
• Vaccines are subject to availability. Yellow fever vaccination is available at designated yellow fever vaccination centres only. Visit the Government of Canada Website to view designated vaccination centres for yellow fever.
• Appointments are subject to fees for a consultation service. Additional fees may apply. Prescription, medications and vaccine administration fees not included in the consultation fee.

Click here to print and complete a copy of our travel health questionnaire.

Yellow Fever Vaccine – Pelham Hills Pharmacy Has you covered!

What

• Yellow Fever (YF) virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
• YF is endemic and intermittently epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Risk for acquiring YF is low for travellers, particularly those staying in highly developed major urban areas.
• YF is unique among diseases in that there are International Health Regulations (IHR) which outline the requirements for proof of vaccination when travelling to specific countries. In Canada, YF vaccine is only available at Yellow Fever vaccination centres designated by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
• YF vaccine has a seroconversion rate of 95% to 99%; immunity is presumed to be lifelong in healthy individuals.
• The most common adverse events (AE) following YF vaccination are pain, inflammation and swelling at the injection site; weakness, headache, and myalgia.

Who

• YF vaccine is recommended for healthy persons 9 months of age and older.
• YF vaccine may be considered in infants 6 to 8 months of age travelling to countries with risk of YF transmission.
• Persons 60 years of age and older should be considered for primary YF vaccination if travelling to countries with risk of YF transmission. Serious adverse events (SAEs) following vaccination occur more frequently in adults over 60 years of age.
• YF vaccine is recommended for laboratory personnel who work with YF virus.

How

• Primary immunization is achieved with one dose of YF vaccine.
• The International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis becomes valid 10 days after primary vaccination.
• While re-vaccination with YF vaccine is not indicated for the majority of immunocompetent travellers, in certain situations booster doses may be required.
• In general, immunocompromised persons, pregnant or lactating persons, and persons with a history of thymus disease should not receive YF vaccine.
• Counselling on routine insect protection and precautions should be provided to all travellers regardless of YF vaccine vaccination status.

In Canada, YF vaccine is only available at yellow fever vaccination centres designated by PHAC.  Pelham Hills Pharmacy IS A DESIGNATED YELLOW FEVER VACCINATION CENTER!!!

Yellow fever vaccine

• YF-VAX®: live, attenuated, yellow fever vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur Limited. (YF)

For complete prescribing information, consult the product leaflet or information contained within Health Canada’s authorized product monographs available through the Drug Product Database.