The movement of patients across borders: challenges and opportunities for public health
The movement of patients across borders: challenges and opportunities for public health
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DOI：
10.2471/blt.10.076612
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发表时间：
2011-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Helble, Matthias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Helble, Matthias
在一个全球化的世界中，公共卫生不再局限于国界。近年来，我们观察到越来越多的患者跨越国际边界。这一趋势的整体程度尚不清楚，因为数据稀少且仅为传闻。如果这种趋势继续下去，专家们相信，它将对地球仪的公共卫生系统产生重大影响。尽管医疗旅行的重要性日益增加，但我们仍然没有多少经验证据表明它对公共卫生，特别是对卫生系统的影响。本文总结了最近关于这一主题的辩论。它讨论了推动医疗旅行的主要力量及其对卫生系统的影响，特别是对获得医疗保健、筹资和卫生工作人员的影响。本文还就如何定义医疗旅行以及如何改进数据收集提供了指导。它倡导进行更多的科学研究，使各国能够利用医疗旅行的好处，并限制医疗旅行对公共卫生的潜在风险。
In a globalizing world, public health is no longer confined to national borders. In recent years we have observed an increasing movement of patients across international borders. The full extent of this trend is yet unknown, as data are sparse and anecdotal. If this trend continues, experts are convinced that it will have major implications for public health systems around the globe. Despite the growing importance of medical travel, we still have little empirical evidence on its impact on public health, especially on health systems. This paper summarizes the most recent debates on this topic. It discusses the main forces that drive medical travel and its implications on health systems, in particular the impacts on access to health care, financing and the health workforce. This paper also offers guidance on how to define medical travel and how to improve data collection. It advocates for more scientific research that will enable countries to harness benefits and limit the potential risks to public health arising from medical travel.