Work with your doctor to create a personalized emergency medical kit

With that trip abroad just around the corner, you could be thinking, ‘What if I get an infection while I’m traveling?’ You may be tempted to buy a medical ‘emergency’ kit online, like those offered by Jase Medical or Amble Health. Companies offering these kits use online prescribing to sell prepackaged kits with a range of prescription medications, including antibiotics, antifungals, and even corticosteroids. Medical experts recommend proceeding with caution, though, especially if you are a medically complex patient, such as someone with primary immunodeficiency (PI).

“I’m not wholesale against it, but do PI patients need to be careful? I would say anyone with a chronic illness needs to be a little bit careful. Anyone who's taking chronic medications, you always want to be sure that it doesn't conflict with the new medication that you're just opening up from your travel kit,” said Kathleen Sullivan, M.D., chief of allergy and immunology at Children’s Healthcare of Philadelphia (CHOP) and chair of the Immune Deficiency Foundation Medical Advisory Board.

The kits can be ordered online for a few hundred dollars each. In most cases, companies ask only that you to complete a health intake form online that is then reviewed by a clinician, though some states require a live telehealth visit as well. All health information is self-reported, which leaves room for error if a person leaves out medications or diagnoses. Because most people do not have to meet face-to-face with a doctor, the medical provider reviewing your emergency kit request may not understand the medical complexity of your condition.

“They usually ask you to type in your other medications because they do, at least, do a computational check to see if there is any conflict,” said Sullivan.

The emergency kits with prescription medications have grown in popularity over the past several years, as have other services that offer prescription drugs online for issues like weight loss, hair loss, and mental health. Looser regulations for telehealth prescribing introduced during the pandemic have made it easier to get prescriptions in general. With drugs for weight loss or mental health, patients may be too embarrassed to address the issues with their regular providers and opt for relatively anonymous online prescriptions instead. Other drivers include lower cost and greater convenience, said Sullivan. In addition, some clinicians are reluctant to prescribe medications before they're actually needed.

“The online drugs are often quite affordable and are the cheapest option for many drugs right now. Plus, people hate going to the doctor, right? It’s a long wait. It’s not instant gratification. You go online and it’s instant gratification,” said Sullivan.

If you decide to order an emergency kit with prescription drugs online, consult with your doctor about what’s included in the kit and get their approval before you take any of the medications.

A better option is to assemble your own emergency kit based on your doctor’s recommendations. Creating a personalized kit provides assurance that it is safe because a doctor who knows your medical condition and history helped choose the contents. Request just-in-case antibiotics from your doctor and discuss what other items would be wise to include based on the type of infections to which you are susceptible, and if you plan to take the kit on a trip, where you are traveling.

“I’m a doctor who gives a fair number of my patients emergency antibiotics when they travel. I trust my patients. If I got a sinus infection in Costa Rica, for example, I would want to have antibiotics. I wouldn’t want to try and have to find an urgent care facility there,” said Sullivan.

“So, I see the travel [emergency] kit as just a more egalitarian way to (offer prescription antibiotics). Are there cautions? Yes, I do think there are some cautions. But that would be true in the general population as well.”