Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Medical tourism: emerging biosecurity and nosocomial issues

Medical tourism: emerging biosecurity and nosocomial issues Purpose – The major purpose of this research note is to explore some of the potential biosecurity and nosocomial risks associated with international medical tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The note reviews relevant medical tourism and cognate literature. Findings – The note finds that there are substantial risks associated with nosocomial infections and complications as a result of international tourism. Although these are clearly significant at an individual level they also represent significant biosecurity risks to the home country of medical tourists and particularly to medical facilities which they may visit if they have an infection. Medical tourists are therefore identified by the medical community as posing significant risks for the spread of pandemics, as well as further contributing to increased antibiotic resistance. Further systematic research is required to assess risk management strategies including the appropriateness of international and national regulations which currently shows considerable variability. Social implications – The development of international medical tourism is demonstrated to have potentially significant negative implications for global public health. Originality/value – The relevance of the paper lies in its identification of considerable risks associated with international medical tourism which may have considerable economic and personal costs associated with them. Such risks are not usually incorporated into assessments of the economic benefits of medical tourism. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Tourism Review Emerald Publishing

Medical tourism: emerging biosecurity and nosocomial issues

C. Michael Hall; Michael James
Tourism Review , Volume 66 (1/2): 9 – May 10, 2011
Download PDF
9 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/medical-tourism-emerging-biosecurity-and-nosocomial-issues-g8hKGyKcIP

References (75)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1660-5373
DOI
10.1108/16605371111127288
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The major purpose of this research note is to explore some of the potential biosecurity and nosocomial risks associated with international medical tourism. Design/methodology/approach – The note reviews relevant medical tourism and cognate literature. Findings – The note finds that there are substantial risks associated with nosocomial infections and complications as a result of international tourism. Although these are clearly significant at an individual level they also represent significant biosecurity risks to the home country of medical tourists and particularly to medical facilities which they may visit if they have an infection. Medical tourists are therefore identified by the medical community as posing significant risks for the spread of pandemics, as well as further contributing to increased antibiotic resistance. Further systematic research is required to assess risk management strategies including the appropriateness of international and national regulations which currently shows considerable variability. Social implications – The development of international medical tourism is demonstrated to have potentially significant negative implications for global public health. Originality/value – The relevance of the paper lies in its identification of considerable risks associated with international medical tourism which may have considerable economic and personal costs associated with them. Such risks are not usually incorporated into assessments of the economic benefits of medical tourism.

Journal

Tourism Review – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 10, 2011

Keywords: International travel; Public health; Tourism; Medical treatment; Communicable diseases

There are no references for this article.