International SOS

International SOS provides medical assistance, health-care, security and risk management services to private organisations and governments. Founded in 1985 as AEA International, International SOS now has 5000 employees, and carries out approximately one million medical and security interventions a year, including around 12,000 evacuations and repatriations [ [http://www.internationalsos.com/en/index.htm International SOS - Medical and Security Solutions, Products and Assistance ] ]

Organisation

International SOS has twelve regional centres – in Dubai, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Philadelphia, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo – as well as a network of alarm centres. The centres are staffed by physicians, operations managers, multilingual coordinators and logistics support personnel [ [http://www.internationalsos.com/en/ourresources_alarmcenters.htm International SOS Alarm Centers Around the World ] ] . Approximately 35 percent of the organisation’s total workforce are medical professionals. [ [http://www.internationalsos.com/en/ourpeople.htm International SOS Staff: doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, security experts & aviation specialists ] ] The organisation often uses hospitals accredited by international accreditation groups, such as JCI in Singapore and Trent Accreditation Scheme in Hong Kong.

History

AEA International was founded in 1985 by Pascal Rey-Herme and Arnaud Vaissié. The organisation focused specifically on providing medical care and consulting services to multinational companies operating in Asia Pacific. Over the following decade, the company grew from its base in Singapore and Indonesia into a pan-Asian corporation, creating operating companies in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and mainland China. In 1995, AEA International launched subsidiaries in France and the USA. The organisation was renamed International SOS in 1998. [ [http://www.internationalsos.com/en/ourhistory.htm International SOS History - Providing worldwide medical assistance for 20 years ] ]

ee also

* Medical tourism

* International healthcare accreditation

References and footnotes

* [http://www.thebusiness.co.uk/news-and-analysis/396711/control-risks-in-talks-with-rival.thtml "Control Risks in talks with rival"]