The Travel Medicine Center is one of the most famous destination travel clinics in the world. The clinic was established in 1982 to meet the need for a Western standard clinic to treat foreign tourists, diplomats and aid workers in Nepal. The clinic is known internationally both for the high level of care afforded to patients, and for its reliable research and information about health risks in Nepal. The Travel Medicine Center was the first clinic situated in a developing country that was selected by the International Society of Travel Medicine to participate in its global surveillance program for emerging diseases among travelers. The clinic also serves as a Family Practice Center for the resident foreign and Nepalese communities. The clinic has recently moved to a greatly expanded new facility across from the British Embassy in Lainchaur-Lazimpat, in the heart of Kathmandu.

The clinic's focus on the health problems of foreigners in Nepal, has led to the discovery of a new cause of diarrhea, the publication of over 30 original research papers, and the receipt of two international awards for research in travel and wilderness medicine.

Emergency services available 24 hours provided by on-call staff physician

Outpatient and Inpatient services provided by clinic doctors and nurses. Our doctors are experienced physicians with special expertise in taking care of high altitude and travel related illnesses. Other services offered at the clinic include the following:

Dental services - Full-service dentistry including operatives, crown and bridge prosthetics, periodontics, cleanings, endodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, and implant dentistry.

Immunization services - All routine pediatric and travel related vaccines are available. In addition to regular vaccines, we carry vaccines that are usually not available in Nepal, including pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for children, inactivated injectable polio vaccine, diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine, and yellow fever vaccine. Rabies prevention - the most reliable source of rabies prevention advice, vaccines, and immunoglobulin in South Asia.

Laboratory services - Excellent on-site laboratory that performs stool examination, blood counts, malaria smears, urinalysis, chemistries, pregnancy test, HIV testing and a range of other laboratory services including special tests for malaria and dengue fever. Our laboratory technician Mr. Ramachandran Rajah is internationally recognized for his work in diarrheal diseases.

Surgery/orthopedics - minor procedures performed on-site. Consultation/referral arranged for emergency major surgery and orthopedics

Translation/Interpretation services: The working language of the clinic is English but medical interpretation is available in Danish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nepali and Tibetan.

Travel advice including advice regarding malaria prophylaxis. We are well stocked with prophylactic medications for malaria prevention.

The Travel Medicine Center operates every day of the week including weekends and holidays. Regular appointments are available from 9-00 am to 4-30 pm Monday through Friday. Emergency visits are available on weekends and after hours. One of the doctors is on call at all times, and can be reached by phoning the Travel Medicine Center (442-4111) or simply by showing up at the center if phone lines are busy. Immunizations are available seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except lunch hour 12-1 PM).

The Dental clinic has regular appointments available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, by phoning 444-0100. One dentist is on call at all other times and may be reached by phoning CIWEC at 442-4111.

The clinic has no outside source of financial support besides the charges that we make to patients. Because we know that many travelers are on a budget, we have always attempted to keep the charges as low as possible. Bills from tourist patients are expected to be paid at the time of each visit. The Travel Medicine Center provides internationally acceptable medical receipts that can be submitted to your insurance company once you get home. We accept VISA and MasterCard payments. If a patient is facing a large bill and does not have the means at hand to pay for it immediately, we can discuss other financial arrangements. Foreign residents of Nepal are automatically extended credit, but are asked to pay their bills at the end of each month. If possible, however, we request that foreign residents make payments at the time of each visit as this streamlines our bill collection process.

CIWEC maintains a web site (www.ciwec-clinic.com), which is updated regularly to allow people to have access to the latest information regarding health risks in Nepal. There are a variety of free printed handouts on health problems and treatment relevant to travelers. Individual questions regarding travel immunizations can be answered without charge. The Health and Safety chapter of the main trekking guide to Nepal, Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya, published by Lonely Planet, is written by the former medical director of CIWEC Clinic, David R. Shlim, M.D.

Prativa Pandey, M.D., Medical Director

Dr. Pandey attended medical school in New Delhi, India and was residency - trained in Internal Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. She became Board Certified in that specialty in 1984 and practiced for l0 years in the Boston area, as an attending physician at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and as a clinical instructor in Medicine at Harvard University. She joined the CIWEC clinic in 1993 and became the Medical Director in 1998. She has worked one season as a Himalayan Rescue Association volunteer doctor in the Everest region. She is currently President of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) and is site director for the GeoSentinel project, an international cooperative project to monitor emerging diseases through studying travel-related illnesses.

David Kraklau, Staff Physician

David Kraklau, MD is a board-certified urological surgeon and former clinical instructor at the Michigan State University College of Medicine in the United States. He has an interest in travel and tropical medicine and has done research on schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease) in Egypt. He has traveled extensively and enjoys trekking and expedition medicine. He is an expert of men's health and has an interest in clinical research in travel and tropical medicine. He joined the Center in 2004.

Kishore Pandey M.D., Pediatrics/family medicine

Dr. Kishore Pandey joined the Travel Medicine Center in 1998 as a consultant pediatrician but as of 2006, he will be seeing adult patients as well. He has practiced extensively in the United Kingdom and in Nepal. His interest in Travel Medicine has led him to be the trip doctor for several trekking expeditions in Nepal.

Brian A. Hollander , DMD, CIWEC Dental Clinic

Brian Hollander, DMD is a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University in the United States. He has been practicing dentistry for 30 years, Previously the director of the (former) American Embassy Dental Clinic in Kathmandu, his clinic joined CIWEC in 2005. Dr. Hollander's team is American trained and certified, operating under U.S. guidelines for aseptic and sterile procedures, and utilizing the latest materials. The clinic staff of two dentists and one periodontal therapist are U.S. trained and licensed and update their skills annually with continuing education. The dental clinic is open Monday through Friday by appointment, and available for emergencies at all other times.

Suphatra Koirala, M.D., Obstetrics Gynecology

Dr. Koirala has been a consultant Gynecologist to the Travel Medicine Center since 1988 providing high quality service to patients in the areas of prenatal/postnatal care, routine gynecology as well as gynecologic and obstetric emergencies. She is fluent in Thai in addition to English and Nepali.

Ed Bartlett, M.D., Psychiatry

Dr. Bartlett is an American trained physician who has been providing psychiatric services at the clinic for three years. His work has been primarily with adults and adolescents where he provides both short and long term psychotherapy/psychoanalysis and medication, when appropriate.

David R.Shlim, M. D., Research Director

Dr. Shlim was the Medical Director of The Travel Medicine Center from 1983-1998. He currently lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he serves as Medical Director of Jackson Hole Travel and Tropical Medicine. He recently published a book called Medicine and Compassion: A Tibetan Lama's Guidance for Caregivers. He continues to be involved in the Travel Medicine Center's research program in Nepal.

The new Clinic is located in Lainchaur across the street from the British Council and the British Embassy.