CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB) first launched podcasts for employers and their expatriate employees in 2007 on its secure and public websites. They’re now upping the ante—employer and expatriate podcasts are still available through CIGNAenvoy.com, however they are now also available free to the public through Apple’s iTunes podcast library.

Check out the podcasts on iTunes or through CIGNA Envoy to learn about the resources available to you while on assignment. Podcasts facilitate ease of transition to expatriate life and can prepare expatriates for the obstacles and challenges they may face when accessing health care abroad.

You can rest assured that CIEB can provide assistance to you regardless of the seriousness of the health situation you may be facing. In coordination with the eCleveland Clinic, CIEB covers comprehensive expert online medical second opinions through the Cleveland Clinic’s MyConsult program.

Through the Cleveland Clinic second opinion service, expatriates or their covered family members that are facing a life-altering or life-threatening condition diagnosis can request a second opinion from anywhere in the world.

Cleveland Clinic’s expert online medical second opinion program connects patients with the diagnostic expertise of world renowned physicians who will review the covered expatriate or dependent’s medical records and diagnostic tests and render an online medical second opinion that includes treatment

Communicating a food allergy or health condition when eating out or shopping for groceries in an unfamiliar country may be overwhelming. In working with expatriates and their covered family members, CIEB has identified two companies that assist those who need to communicate allergies or specific health conditions. Dietary Card and Select Wisely both offer translation cards to help expatriates communicate when grocery shopping or eating at a restaurant to ensure they do not order a meal that is prepared with a food that may trigger an allergic reaction.

The cards are specific and can communicate the severity of an allergy, whether an allergy is life-threatening or you are simply sensitive to a particular food.

Select Wisely also has translation cards to communicate diabetes, asthma emergencies, celiac disease and for travelers who adhere to a vegetarian or vegan diet.

ExpatWomen.com recently featured an article on pregnancy and childbirth while on international assignment authored by CIEB’s very own clinician, Mary Werner, RN. Mary is a part of CIEB’s Global Health Solutions Clinical Team. Her article focuses on cultural

CIEB added general practitioners and hospitals in China and Macau to the CIGNALinks^® health care facility network in July. Most notably, expatriates can now visit United Family Hospital (UFH) in Beijing and Shanghai and receive network discounts.

Utilization at UFH was already high among expatriates, so CIEB is happy to have arranged discounts on behalf of covered expatriates.

One of the more challenging aspects of supporting expatriates spread across every part of the globe is working with the health care facilities that serve them. CIEB now offers access to CIGNA Envoy to doctors and hospitals that are part of CIGNALinks^® networks in East Asia and will continue to expand access to network health care facilities using a phased approach.

CIGNA Envoy access will ultimately allow doctors and hospitals to serve you better. Health care facilities with access will be able to

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) protects the privacy of your personal health information.  CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits is sending you this reminder as required by federal regulations governing the privacy of your personal health information.  CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits issued to you a Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains how CIGNA International