Traveling Veteran Services
VA’s goal is to ensure quality seamless care across VA medical facilities during extended travel or for a permanent move outside of VA Palo Alto health care.
We aim to help you connect with your newly desired, closer VA to:
- Maintain routine medical care at another VA location when traveling
- Help with permanent relocation to transfer care to another VA
Care coordination for traveling Veterans
Before you travel
Start by sharing your travel information with your care team using your account on the VA website.
Be sure to tell your VA provider your:
- Arrival and departure dates
- Full travel destination and temporary address
- Best contact phone number to reach you while you’re away
- Specific medical care needed
Complete your routine medical follow-up appointments, like eye or foot exams.
Ensure you have enough medications for your trip.
For non-urgent care during travel
Contact your home VA provider for routine care needs. They will initiate care at your current location, if possible, through the Traveling/Relocation Veteran Coordinator.
For urgent/emergent care during travel
Urgent care while traveling:
- Use the VA Locator to search for the nearest VA-contracted urgent care in your area.
- Urgent care may be covered by VA at participating sites.
- Additional VA urgent care information (including eligibility and possible co-pays)
Emergency care while traveling:
- During a medical emergency, you should immediately seek care at the nearest emergency department (ED). Go to the nearest appropriate VA or community ED.
- Use the VA Locator to search for the nearest VA emergency department in your area.
If receiving emergency care at a non-VA facility, ask the provider to notify us right away in either of these ways:
- Through our VA emergency care reporting portal, or
- By calling us at
We must get the notification within 72 hours of when your emergency care starts. We prefer that the provider notify us. But if they don’t, you or someone acting on your behalf can notify us instead.
- Additional VA emergency care information
Prescriptions while traveling
Make sure you have a supply of medications/refills that last the entire length of your trip.
To refill your prescriptions while traveling:
- Ensure your prescriptions are fillable, meaning they are not expired and have current refills.
- You must submit a temporary address while traveling to ensure timely delivery of medications.
- You will need to be enrolled with visiting VA to receive assistance with prescriptions.
- Visiting VA may dispense a one-time, 15-day supply of some active medications (called a bridge supply).
- Visiting VA will not dispense controlled substances even if there are refills remaining.
For outpatient pharmacy, visit https://bit.ly/VARefill, or call
Travel outside of the U.S.
If you’re planning to travel outside the U.S. territories, sign up with the Foreign Medical Program, or contact their office at:
VHA Office of Community Care
Foreign Medical Program (FMP)
Phone:
Email: hac.fmp@va.gov