Dignitary medicine: adapting prehospital, preventive, tactical and travel medicine to new populations.

Dignitary Protection Medicine (DPM) is a new area of medical expertise that incorporates elements of virtually all medical and surgical specialties, drawing heavily from travel, tactical and expedition medicine. The fundamentals of DPM stem from the experiences of White House, State Department and other physicians who have traveled extensively with dignitaries. Furthermore, increased international travel of business executives and political dignitaries has mandated a need for proficiency in this realm. We sought to define the requisite knowledge base and skill sets that form the foundation of this new area of specialization.