India’s growing maritime workforce is creating an equally important need for specialised and reliable healthcare support for seafarers who spend long periods at sea with limited access to medical facilities. Following MedRabbits Clinic’s DG Shipping certification, India Shipping News Editor Ms. Sabarnaa M speaks with Ms. Suhasini Deshmukh, Director, MedRabbits Healthcare, on the critical role of pre-employment medical examinations, preventive healthcare, early detection of health risks and the need to look beyond a simple “fit” or “unfit” assessment. In this exclusive interaction, Ms. Deshmukh also shares her vision for a more integrated healthcare continuum for seafarers.
Q: MedRabbits Clinic’s recent certification from the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) marks its entry into specialised maritime healthcare. From your perspective, what are the key healthcare challenges facing India’s growing seafaring workforce today, and why has specialised medical screening become increasingly important?
The maritime workforce of India functions in a very unconventional set-up. Being the spouse of a Seafarer, I have seen first hand the challenges faced by Officers and crew of the Merchant Navy work. They work in extremely tough environments and spend long periods at sea, away from their families without access to immediate healthcare facilities. Hence, being prepared in the field of medicine is crucial since what can be handled fairly easily on the ground may be complicated at sea, when a health issue arises. The recent war situation in the Middle East continues to pose significant direct risks as well as mental health challenges.
As the shipping industry in India continues to grow, seafarers will need to be prepared medically for their roles. This means that special health assessments will be needed prior to the commencement of any kind of sea voyages. Such assessments will allow us to check whether a person is fit for employment and to eliminate possible mental and physial health threats.
Therefore, our DG Shipping certification is not only a continuation of our activities in healthcare but also an opportunity to become part of a very specific industry where accessibility, quality service, and compliance with regulations are the key features of success.
Q: Pre-employment medical examination is often viewed primarily as a regulatory requirement. How important is it, in your view, as a preventive healthcare intervention that can identify potential health risks before a seafarer boards a vessel and spends extended periods at sea?
Again, having spent several months on board ships, I understand that any health issue onboard can contribute to severe losses for the shipowners due to deviation of ships and reliever costs. Pre-employment medical assessment is regarded as an effective means of preventive medicine because it presents the chance to analyze an individual’s health status prior to entering an environment where medical assistance may not be easily accessible. For seafarers, it is essential that they are medically fit before going to sea, as it affects not only their own welfare but also stability and safety of operations on board. Potential problems can be highlighted during the assessment stage, thus allowing them to be solved before they are on board, rather than detecting them when medical help is not available. Additionally, the Vessel’s P&I insurers also require a pre employment medical examination (“PEME”) to mitigate any insurance claims.
That’s why it is necessary for us to form a patient-friendly, organized, and detailed process. The aim should be to make sure that seafarers are aware of their health status and shipping companies, P&I clubs, Flag states and crewing agencies in turn feel assured that the required standards of medical fitness test have been appropriately checked.
Q: Merchant Navy personnel work in physically demanding environments and may have limited access to medical care while onboard. What are some of the health parameters or risk factors that, if identified early during medical assessment, can make a meaningful difference to a seafarer’s safety, wellbeing and ability to perform duties at sea?
The first stage should consist of a deep assessment of the mental and physical health fitness for working at sea taking into account the fact that this kind of environment is highly risky and requires a lot of physical effort. Apart from defining the under immediate fitness factor, medical examinations help detect those health problems that may limit the ability of a seafarer to carry out their duties successfully and inform about shortcomings that require further consultations, diagnostic measures or systematic management which will result in early making a decision and preventing health problems too. Personnel joining in specific ranks may require enhanced testing as per their role and age.
The important thing to keep in mind is that screening should not be considered a simple test with a pass or fail answer. It should be a useful clinical assessment and give recommendations for further actions. Thus, a well-structured assessment system will help seafarers to be ready for deployment and gain more understanding of their health condition. MedRabbits’ wider clinical model works in this regard since it includes medical consultation, counselling, diagnostics and preventive health assessment in one package.
Q: With Indian seafarers operating in an increasingly globalised and highly regulated maritime environment, how can standardised and DG Shipping-compliant medical assessments help improve confidence among shipowners, crewing agencies and international employers regarding the fitness and preparedness of Indian crew?
Standardization introduces more uniformity and transparency into the medical assessment procedures. The shipowners and crewing agents have more trust in the evaluations which were carried out according to ILO , Flag state and DG Shipping requirements because the fitness criteria have undergone their assessment prior to the deployment of seafarers. The importance of these procedures is even greater in the international shipping business where Indian sailors serve under different operational conditions every day. The systematic and compliant procedure allows establishing a common standard regarding medical fitness and eliminating uncertainty concerning the completion of all the necessary procedures.
From our perspective, the issue of ensuring availability and compliance should be considered simultaneously. Each accredited center should meet all the requirements and at the same time have an organized, efficient, and easy procedure.
Q: Beyond simply determining whether a candidate is medically fit for deployment, how can maritime medical centres contribute to creating greater awareness among seafarers about preventive healthcare, nutrition, lifestyle-related risks and long-term health management?
A medical evaluation serves as a helpful opportunity for raising awareness about health and wellness issues. When an individual approaches a medical centre for the evaluation of their health status, it allows them to do more than determine whether they are fit to rescale but suggests a proactive approach to making informed decisions about their health. One important factor that must be considered is the understanding of different aspects of preventive health checks, proper nutrition, healthy lifestyle, and timely medical follow-up. It is especially important for seafarers, whose working conditions may imply long periods away from regular hospitals, to make sure they remain healthy.
As a qualified nutritionist, I also see value in making health guidance practical and relevant to an individual’s circumstances rather than treating preventive healthcare as a generic checklist. A maritime medical centre can become an important point of connection between screening and continuing health management, particularly when the facility has access to consultations, diagnostics and coordinated follow-up.
Q: MedRabbits follows an integrated clinic-to-home healthcare model, bringing together consultations, diagnostics, preventive care and coordinated healthcare support. How do you see this model adding value to maritime medical services, particularly when a medical assessment identifies a condition that requires further consultation, investigation or follow-up?
This is where our healthcare model’s integrated approach can showcase its full potential. Ideally, a medical assessment should not stop once a report has been completed. If a screening has detected a problem requiring further assessment, by establishing connections between services in a single healthcare ecosystem, one can simplify the next step for the individual. At MedRabbits, we have designed our clinic model in such a way as to include consultations with doctors, diagnostics, preventive medicine, and follow-ups, and by using our ecosystem, we are integrating these services with home care and other medical options.
For our maritime industry clients, this method of working can be helpful as delays and untimely decisions matter in the context of deployment. Our case management services also assists Shipping companies to streamline their crew health and injury requirements in the event that there is any illness or injury on board. This also includes treatment and management of seafarers who are repatriated home due to an illness or injury. Our goal is to make the process of medical evaluation as smooth and organized as possible, providing individuals with a clear path to their next steps in case there is a need to proceed with further treatment.
Q: From an operational standpoint, how can a more organised and accessible medical assessment process help shipping companies and crewing agencies reduce delays in crew deployment while maintaining the required standards of medical fitness and compliance?
Medical assessments play a critical role in the deployment process of shipping companies and crewing agencies, and thus an efficient and accessible procedure can bring operational benefits. This leads to the creation of an organized procedure that will serve to complete the required medical assessments without excessive delays between the parties.
It is necessary to keep up both the efficiency and quality of assessments. Hence, the task is to come to the creation of a streamlined yet effective process where seafarers can easily get their assessments done, whereas shipping companies as well as crewing agencies will obtain quality assessments according to the requirements of the DG Shipping organization.
This is the reason why we pay attention to accessibility, organization, and smoothness of the process through our certified clinic, where we integrate clinical services and healthcare coordination. Such an endeavor should lead to efficiency without compromising safety.
Q: With MedRabbits now entering maritime healthcare, what is your broader vision for the initiative? Do you see the DG Shipping-certified clinic developing into a more comprehensive healthcare support system for seafarers, extending beyond pre-employment examinations to preventive and continuing healthcare?
We envision many possibilities for this initiative apart from just pre-employment screening. Although certification by DG Shipping is an important initial step for maritime healthcare, we are also proceeding to get the clinic accredited by other maritime interests such as the insurers and Flag states. Our approach to healthcare extends beyond initial medical assessments. We believe that our case management services also assists Shipping companies to streamline their crew health and injury requirements in the event that there is any illness or injury on board. This also includes treatment and management of seafarers who are repatriated home due to an illness or injury, thereby ensuring that their wellbeing is catered for even after they return home. We believe in the value of enhancing medical fitness assessments through proper coordination of care over time, thereby creating better options for health management starting from prevention and diagnostics to tele-consultations and further follow-up in cases when treatment is needed for those identified as unfit for work. In this regard, our goals are similar to those of MedRabbits, as our company provides services combining telemedicine consultations related to diagnostics, health prevention, chronic disease management, and at-home assistance. The long-term vision for seafarers is to implement health management throughout their career path while integrating medical fitness into the healthcare continuum.
