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I. Glenn Cohen (Faculty Director) et al.
Canadian Family Physician
July 2015, Vol. 61, No. 7

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Faculty Director I. Glenn Cohen is a co-author of the article "Navigating physicians’ ethical and legal duties to patients seeking unproven interventions abroad" in the peer-reviewed journal Canadian Family Physician.

From the article:

Medical tourism (MT), the practice of traveling to another country to access medical care that is paid for out of pocket, has received considerable attention in the Canadian news media. Stories depict Canadians traveling abroad for various elective or necessary medical procedures, such as hip and knee replacements, bariatric surgery, and dental treatments. Commonly cited safety concerns of MT focus on the quality of care abroad and differences in safety standards or protocols in different health care systems. Medical tourists might be unable to bring their records home, disrupting continuity of care and challenging physicians’ abilities to provide appropriate follow-up care. Media and industry information sources, which are commonly accessed by medical tourists, might inadequately inform Canadians about MT safety concerns. As a result, there is concern among Canadian physicians and health and safety professionals that prospective medical tourists might not be well placed to make informed decisions about their care. As gatekeepers in the health care system and the first source of interaction between the health care system and patients, family physicians are well positioned to inform Canadians about these safety risks. [...]

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Tags

bioethics   health care finance   health law policy   i. glenn cohen   international   medical tourism