MMA - Further Information
Maritime Medical Access
Maritime Medical Access - Further Information
Maritime Companies must have a reliable system for ensuring that designated medical personnel have immediate access to quality medical consultation. MMA provides 24 hour a day consultation services with our board certified emergency physicians. DEM physicians are highly sensitive to the complexities of providing health care in environments with limited resources. Our physicians also have significant experience working with health care providers of varying levels of expertise.
MMA physicians work with the designated medical officer to obtain pertinent information concerning the patient's condition. The physician determines a probable diagnosis, recommends a treatment plan, and arranges for scheduled follow-up calls at appropriate intervals. In cases where evacuation appears to be indicated, our physicians will communicate this recommendation along with supporting rationale to the medical officer.
The MMA physicians are located in the Emergency Department of The George Washington University Medical Center. The Emergency Department is staffed at all times by three resident physicians and one attending physician. The attending physician is a faculty member of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Only the attending physician responds to MMA medical advice calls.
A red strobe light is activated in the Emergency Unit to notify the attending physician whenever there is an incoming telex. Incoming MMA telephone and fax calls are initially answered by one of the station secretaries who then summons the attending physician via an overhead paging system. The attending physician responds to MMA calls immediately. The presence of the resident physicians allows the attending physician to temporarily interrupt patient care activities to respond to MMA calls. Additionally, there is always a designated backup attending physician available by portable telephone.
MMA provides case management services if a person is hospitalized or requires ongoing outpatient medical treatment either overseas or in the United States. We have access to an international network of physicians and hospitals and can provide medical referrals anywhere in the world. Contact is made with the patient's personal physician and medical information with interpretation is relayed to your company representative. MMA Physicians monitor the appropriateness of the medical care rendered to the patient.
If medical escort services become necessary for an injured / ill patient, MMA can provide various levels of medical personnel (paramedics, nurses, physicians) to accompany patients during repatriation.
MMA physicians are accustomed to working with medical providers with varying levels of training and expertise. MMA does not require specific training as a prerequisite for utilization of our services. However, MMA prefers that the maritime company have a designated medical officer in each location with some training and background. The level of training would be dependent on characteristics of the location (e.g., number of people, proximity to advanced medical care, work activities at the location, duration of assignments).
MMA designs and presents a variety of training programs. Educational programs range from basic first aid/CPR to EMT and paramedic training.
Courses are taught at The George Washington University or at alternate locations in which the maritime company specifies. MMA will work with the company representative(s) to determine their specific training needs.
The Gateway Program is a unique integration of MMA's case management and repatriation services with a network of Occupational Medicine Specialists. Injured or ill patients are evaluated by a designated Gateway physician prior to returning to his/her local medical care system.
If a patient needs to be repatriated home, MMA can provide physician, nurse or paramedic escorts. MMA can also provide coordination of medical care and arrange evacuations to higher levels of care in both the U.S. and abroad. Upon the patient's return from the remote site, the maritime company representative will direct the employee to a medical facility in his/her hometown or to GWUMC in Washington, D.C. for further medical evaluation. The patient is then released to return to his/her physician of choice. MMA Physicians continue to monitor the patient's recovery and inform the company representative of any significant deviations from the initial projections.
MMA will work with a maritime company representative to determine the most appropriate medicine chest for their various locations. Recommendations will be made taking into account the number of people on site, the type of work activities performed on site, the proximity to advanced medical care, and the medical expertise available on site. MMA has assisted in the design of medicine chests for a number of different types of clients (e.g., fishing trawlers, cargo ships, small cruise vessels).
Director Maritime Programs: Mike Hite, RN, MHA, NREMT-P
Maritime Medical Access - Department of Emergency Medicine
2150 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 2B-417, Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202)741-2919/2918 Fax: (202) 741-2921