Simon Fraser University, Geography, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6.
Can Fam Physician. 2013 Dec;59(12):1314-9.
To explore how Canadian family doctors understand their roles and responsibilities toward patients who seek health care abroad.
Six focus groups were held with family doctors across British Columbia to explore their experiences with and perspectives on outbound medical tourism. Focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed, and subsequently thematically coded to discover common issues and themes across the entire data set.
Focus groups were held with family doctors in 6 cities in British Columbia that provided representation from all provincial health authorities and a range of urban contexts.
A total of 22 currently practising family doctors participated across the 6 focus groups, with groups ranging in size from 2 to 6 participants (average 4 participants).
Thematic analysis of the transcripts identified cross-cutting themes that emerged across the 6 focus groups.
Participants reported that medical tourism threatened patients' continuity of care. Informational continuity is disrupted before patients go abroad because patients regularly omit family doctors from preoperative planning and upon return home when patients lack complete or translated medical reports. Participants believed that their responsibilities to patients resumed once the patients had returned home from care abroad, but were worried about not being able to provide adequate follow-up care. Participants were also concerned about bearing legal liability toward patients should they be asked to clinically support treatments started abroad.
Medical tourism poses challenges to Canadian family doctors when trying to reconcile their traditional roles and responsibilities with the novel demands of private out-of-country care pursued by their patients. Guidance from professional bodies regarding physicians' responsibilities to Canadian medical tourists is currently lacking. Developing these supports would help address challenges faced in clinical practice.
探索加拿大家庭医生如何理解他们对寻求境外医疗服务的患者的角色和责任。
在不列颠哥伦比亚省的六个城市举行了六组家庭医生焦点小组，以探讨他们对境外医疗旅游的经验和看法。焦点小组的内容被数字记录、转录，并随后进行主题编码，以发现整个数据集的共同问题和主题。
在不列颠哥伦比亚省的六个城市举行了焦点小组，这些城市代表了所有省级卫生当局和各种城市环境。
共有 22 名目前在不列颠哥伦比亚省执业的家庭医生参加了这 6 个焦点小组，每个小组的规模从 2 到 6 人不等（平均 4 人）。
对转录本进行主题分析，确定了在 6 个焦点小组中出现的跨主题。
参与者报告称，医疗旅游威胁到患者的连续护理。在患者出国之前，信息连续性就会中断，因为患者经常在术前计划中不告知家庭医生，而在回国后，由于缺乏完整或翻译的医疗报告，患者也不告知家庭医生。参与者认为，一旦患者从境外医疗回国，他们对患者的责任就恢复了，但他们担心无法提供足够的后续护理。如果患者要求他们对在国外开始的治疗提供临床支持，参与者还担心会承担法律责任。
当试图调和他们传统的角色和责任与患者追求的私人境外护理的新需求时，境外医疗旅游给加拿大家庭医生带来了挑战。目前，专业机构缺乏关于医生对加拿大医疗游客的责任的指导。制定这些支持措施将有助于解决临床实践中面临的挑战。
