The power of a dynamic network
Edvard Hojnik, General Manager of TBS Team 24, talks to ITIJ about its network, collaboration, and how technology is changing the industry
TBS Team 24 operates within a dynamic and interconnected network – how would you describe the role your network plays in the company’s overall success and growth?
TBS Team 24 operates within a highly integrated global network that forms the foundation of its success. This network enables the company to deliver fast, reliable, and high‑quality medical assistance anywhere in the world. By combining trusted medical partners, specialised transport providers, and local expertise, TBS Team 24 ensures consistent care standards, operational resilience, and cost transparency for its clients. The network also fuels the company’s growth by opening new markets, supporting innovation, and strengthening long‑term partnerships. In a complex and interconnected world, TBS Team 24’s network is not just an operational asset – it is a strategic engine that drives performance, trust, and sustainable expansion.
What sets the TBS Team 24 network apart from others in your industry, and how do you ensure strong collaboration and alignment across it?
The TBS Team 24 network stands apart through its selective, high‑quality global partnerships, deep local integration, and multi‑layered emergency response capabilities. Unlike networks built on volume, TBS Team 24 maintains a curated ecosystem of trusted medical providers, transport partners, and specialists who meet strict international standards. Continuous communication, real‑time intelligence, and rigorous performance monitoring ensure that every partner operates in full alignment with our protocols. This collaborative, resilient, and intelligence‑driven network enables TBS Team 24 to deliver consistent, high‑quality medical assistance worldwide – even in the most challenging environments.
TBS Team 24 operates within a highly integrated global network that forms the foundation of its success
As General Manager, what are the biggest challenges you face in managing and scaling your network, and how do you turn those challenges into opportunities?
In the medical assistance industry, managing and scaling a global network is both our greatest challenge and our greatest competitive advantage. The complexity is real – we operate across different healthcare systems, regulatory environments, cost structures, and cultural expectations. But instead of seeing this as a barrier, we treat it as a strategic opportunity to differentiate ourselves.
So yes, the challenges are significant – but they are also the reason we exist. In a world where healthcare, travel, and risk are more interconnected than ever, our ability to turn complexity into reliability is exactly what sets TBS Team 24 apart.
How does TBS Team 24 support innovation and knowledge sharing within its network to stay competitive in a fast-changing market?
In a fast‑changing market, innovation is not optional – it’s existential. By turning our global network into a collaborative, data‑driven, and continuously learning ecosystem, TBS Team 24 stays ahead of the curve and delivers the reliability, agility, and medical excellence our clients expect.
Technology is evolving rapidly – what technological advancements have had the biggest impact on your daily operations and network performance so far?
Technology is reshaping the medical assistance industry faster than ever, and, for us, the biggest impact comes from tools that enhance speed, accuracy, and coordination. We don’t adopt technology for the sake of innovation – we adopt it because it makes us better at saving lives, controlling costs, and delivering consistent global care.
We use digital tools to manage our global network – from credentialling and performance scoring to real-time availability.
Like the major global players, we’ve moved from traditional case handling to fully digital case management.
Data has become one of our most powerful assets. We analyse global case trends, medical inflation, regional risk patterns, and provider performance.
For high-risk environments, we use secure tracking and geolocation tools to support travellers, remote workers, and corporate clients.
Technology doesn’t replace the human element of medical assistance – it amplifies it. The advancements we’ve adopted allow us to operate with greater speed, precision, and global coordination. That’s how we stay competitive in a fast-changing market and how we continue delivering the reliability our clients expect from TBS Team 24.
In the medical assistance industry, managing and scaling a global network is both our greatest challenge and our greatest competitive advantage
What digital tools or technologies are essential in keeping your network connected, efficient, and responsive on a day-to-day basis?
In our day-to-day operations, several digital tools are essential for keeping our network connected, efficient, and highly responsive. Alongside widely used collaboration and communication platforms, a key pillar of our digital ecosystem is our own Zero Touch platform – the assistance coordinator of tomorrow. It serves as one unified environment for insurers, service providers, and customers, bringing together multiple modules that seamlessly connect our entire network.
The platform integrates everything from web-based mobile applications for customers, enabling them to track their cases in real time, to dedicated applications for service providers. We are also developing a specialised application for international assistance partners, allowing them to follow their entrusted cases live as we handle them.
In addition, we rely on a virtual assistant that supports our assistance centre in daily operations, and we complement our workflow with various external tools that help streamline tasks and further enhance overall performance. Together, these technologies form a robust digital foundation that keeps our operations agile, transparent, and future ready.
Technology is no longer just supporting our operations, it’s redefining what a medical assistance network can be
Looking ahead, how do you see technological progress reshaping your network and the way TBS Team 24 operates over the next few years?
Technology is no longer just supporting our operations, it’s redefining what a medical assistance network can be. Over the next few years, we expect technological progress to fundamentally reshape how TBS Team 24 operates, collaborates, and delivers care worldwide.
The future of medical assistance belongs to companies that can combine human expertise with intelligent technology. At TBS Team 24, we see technological progress not as a disruption, but as an accelerator – one that will make our network faster, smarter, and more resilient than ever before.
The following enhancements and upcoming modules are expected to significantly strengthen our operations moving forward:
• A shift toward predictive, not reactive, assistance
• AI-enhanced decision support for faster, safer case handling
• A fully connected, digitally credentialled global network
• Expansion of telemedicine and remote care capabilities
• Advanced tracking and crisis response technologies
• Stronger cybersecurity and cross border data compliance
• Technology that deepens collaboration, not replaces it.
Edvard Hojnik
General Manager, TBS Team 24
Edvard holds the position of the General Manager of TBS Team 24, headquartered in Maribor, Slovenia, and has almost three decades of expertise in assistance services. Driven by a strong commitment to people, innovative solutions, and technological advancement, he consistently elevates service standards and strengthens the TBS Team 24 position as a leading assistance provider in the region.
March 2026
Issue
In this month’s ITIJ we examine the digitisation of healthcare across the Americas, plus we look at how embedded insurance is disrupting the traditional insurance market. We also investigate Latin American medical assistance provision and ask how can the industry build awareness and engagement among consumers.
Editorial Team
The Editorial Team updates the ITIJ website daily, and works on features for the print edition. With expert industry knowledge and years of experience in writing about complex travel insurance issues, the Editorial Team is ready to investigate and report on the topics that matter most to ITIJ's readers.
February 2025
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Offering readers a deep dive into the issues facing providers and payers of healthcare services around the world. Cost containment, international patient department development, the role of AI in healthcare delivery and more.