International SOS is a health and security services firm. The company takes around 4 million assistance calls every year and has close to two-thirds of the

Fortune Global 500 The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine. Methodology Until 1989, it listed onl ...

companies as clients.

Services

International SOS focuses on helping organisations and their people reduce exposure to, and mitigate, health, wellbeing and security risks. Their services include providing a feed of information on world events, assistance services, health consultancy and programmes, education, advice and medical equipment. It advises on preventive programmes and assisting with emergency response for employees, including domestic workers, business travellers,

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s and their dependents. Its centres are staffed by

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

s, EMT's, operations managers, multilingual coordinators and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

support personnel. It also has a global network of external service providers including specialist doctors, hospitals, ambulances, charter aircraft and security personnel. The firm's Tracker service monitors the travel of 10 million people, helping organisations to know where their employees are in a crisis. The firm joined risk management consultancy

Control Risks Control Risks is a global risk and strategic consulting firm specializing in political, security and integrity risk. History Control Risks was formed in 1975, as a professional adviser to the insurance industry. A subsidiary of insurance broke ...

in releasing an itinerary-forwarding feature TravelTracker in 2016. The firm operates

air ambulances Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

services out of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, China,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. It airlifted 18,000 emergency cases in 2008.

Organisation

International SOS is a privately owned company. They work with educational organisations, corporate clients (including the majority of the Fortune Global 500), corporate clients (including 89% of the Fortune Global 100 and 64% of Fortune Global 500), governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The firm has headquarters in

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It operates worldwide via 81 offices and 26 assistance centres serving over 1,000 locations in 90 countries. The firm takes around 4 million assistance calls every year with 99 languages and dialects spoken in their Assistance Centres, clinics and offices.

History

International SOS Clinic Staff moving patient into Clinic

Pascal Rey-Herme, a doctor, and

Arnaud Vaissié Arnaud Vaissié (born 28 November 1954) is the co-founder, Chairman and Chief executive officer, CEO of medical and travel security services firm, International SOS. He is also President of CCI France International, a worldwide network of 125 Fren ...

, a businessman, founded a company (then called AEA International) in 1985 to provide medical assistance services to expatriate communities and international organisations in Southeast Asia. Over the following decade, the company grew from its base in Singapore and Indonesia into a pan-Asian corporation, with operations in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and mainland China. Key clients included oil and gas companies with operations in remote locations. In 1998, AEA International acquired International SOS Assistance, a group of corporations founded in 1974 by Claude Giroux a Canadian entrepreneur, creating the largest medical assistance company in the world. Initially, it was known as AEA International SOS, and was renamed International SOS in 1999. The acquisition extended the company beyond Asia. In 2012, International SOS moved its UK headquarters to

Chiswick Business Park Chiswick Business Park is a business park in Gunnersbury, West London, fronting on to Chiswick High Road. History Bus maintenance site The land on which the Chiswick Business Park was built had been owned by the Rothschild family and planted ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

Growth and Acquisitions

In 2008 the firm launched a

strategic alliance A strategic alliance (also see strategic partnership) is an agreement between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives needed while remaining independent organizations. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aims ...

with

to offer combined medical and security services, and acquired MedAire, a provider of remote medical services for

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

founded by

Joan Sullivan Garrett Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multiple ...

. In 2009, it acquired a majority stake in Abermed, a UK-based provider of occupational health and remote medical services to the energy sector. In 2010, it developed a strategic alliance with RMSI, an international rapid deployment medical and rescue service, with activities in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

In 2011, it merged with VIPdesk, a North American provider of concierge services, customer care and loyalty programs, acquired the medical supplies division of SMI (Service Médical International), acquired of L.E. West, EMC, Shenton Pharmacy and Nutracare Pharma, and launched a joint venture in Brazil with International Health Care. In 2012, it acquired EMSM, a concierge and lifestyle company in South Korea. And in 2013, it acquired Norwegian companies SBHT, KBHT, Haugaland HMS, and Nordic Medical Services (NMS), and partnered with Aerosafety, a medical and aviation safety equipment company in Brazil. In 2014, it launched Response Services Australia, a provider of emergency response, rescue and recovery services, entered a partnership with AMAS medical Services in India, acquired Aeromed in Mozambique, and created strategic partnership with West African Rescue Association (WARA), a clinic and medical services company in West Africa. In 2016, it entered a strategic partnership with

Everbridge Everbridge, Inc. is an American enterprise software company that offers applications which provide information about critical events to help with personal safety and business continuity. Formerly known as 3n Global and the National Notification ...

. In 2017, it entered a Duty of Care integration with Rocketrip, started joint venture partnerships with Global Excel and Iqarus, acquired International Health Solutions and launched a digital consultation service from Aberdeen Health Centre. It also started the world's first emotional support service for the mobile workforce. Yangon MEDEVAC

In 2019, it took full responsibility of the services it was previously providing as part of the Control Risks joint venture, to provide its consolidated Security Services suite to clients. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, it rapidly expanded its TeleConsultation services, part of its TeleHealth services, to over 30 countries.

Major assistance

International SOS has provided medical advice, assistance, and travel safety services during and after a number of major incidents. These include the

, the Jakarta unrest, the Mumbai terrorist attacks by helping those directly impacted by the event, and the Yemen crisis. It has provided service during disease crises, including the provided medical assistance during the global

, the 2003

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

outbreak and the

Ebola outbreak in West Africa The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in Western Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia an ...

. It has dealt with major natural disasters such as the 2004

Boxing Day Tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sum ...

, the 2004

Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sum ...

, the 2005

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part o ...

, the 2010

Haiti earthquake Some of the earthquakes in Haiti have been very destructive to the country. The widespread damage and high-number of casualties of events in 2010 and 2021 can be partially blamed on the fact that most of the population in Haiti resides in struct ...

, the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...

, the 2014

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, and the Sabah earthquake in Malaysia. The firm has also provided services to major sporting events such as the Summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, and the 2010 Asian Games. In 2006, International SOS's medical transports became the first direct flights between mainland China and Taiwan to be flown since 1949.

Awards

International SOS has received the following recognition and awards: * 2009 Arnaud Vaissié awarded Ernst and young Entrepreneur of The Year Award. * 2012 The publication
Duty of Care Benchmarking Study
won 'Best Research Study of the Year' EMMA. * 2015: TravelTracker 6.0 won the Business Travel Awards 'Best Specialist Business Travel Product/Provider; the firm won Best Specialist Business Travel Product/Provider award - Business Travel Awards. * 2016 International SOS and Control Risks received the Individual Alliance Excellence Award from the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals. * 2017: Risk Management Product of the Year, CIR Risk Management Awards for TravelTracker and Incident Management Services, International Healthcare and Risk Management Provider of the Year, FEM EMMA EMEA Award, and winner in four categories at the Americas EMMAs: Best Use of Data Analytics within Global Mobility, Most Innovative Use of Technology in Global Mobility - Assignee Management, International Healthcare and Risk Management Provider of the Year and Thought Leadership – Best Survey or Research Study of the Year. * 2018 International SOS Assistance UK LTD. Recognised as an investor in people, ISOA VANGUARD Award for Initiatives in post-conflict environments, Global Certification to ISO 9001 2015 Quality Management System, FEM APAC EMMA's AWARD * 2018 Aspire Lifestyles chosen as The Official Concierge Partner of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 Awards * 2018 International SOS appointed as Fortune Global Forum's Preferred Medical Partner * 2019 Aspire Lifestyles chosen as the Official Concierge Partner of Asia's 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2019 * 2019 International SOS 'Event Support' won Best Specialist Business Travel Service * 2019 MedAire named Security Information Provider of Choice by top airlines * 2019 International SOS received the ISOA Vanguard Award for initiatives in post-conflict environment, awarded ISO 27001 Certification for Best Practice in Information Security Management, CIR Risk Management Award for Event Support * 2019 International SOS recognised as the International Healthcare & Risk Management Provider of The Year at the 2019 FEM APAC EMMAS * 2019 International SOS – Johannesburg, Angola, Nigeria and Ghana awarded The Prestigious Top Employer Africa Certification * 2020 International SOS recognised as a Top Employer in the UK for 2020 * 2020 2020 Aspire Lifestyles became the Official Concierge Partner of the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards

International SOS Foundation

The International SOS Foundation launched in March 2012 with a grant from International SOS as a registered charity that is a fully independent and non-profit organisation. The Foundation has the goal of improving the safety, security, health and welfare of people working abroad or on remote assignments through the study, understanding and mitigation of potential risks. It has published, and acts as a repository for, a number of academic papers, articles and advisory notes on these topics. In 2016, the Foundation introduced the

Duty of Care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establi ...

Awards to recognise organisations and individuals who have made a significant contribution to protecting their staff as they travel and work overseas. In 2017, the Duty of Care Summit was launched, bringing together industry leaders to share best practices in the safety and security of the mobile and remote workforce; this event took place on the day of the Duty of Care Awards.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Multinational health care companies Rescue aviation