Medical tourism study highlights gap between resourced and resource-limited countries

The number of people seeking medical care outside their home country, a phenomenon called medical tourism, is rising. From a global health perspective, it is vital to track where these patients come from and why to ensure demands on health care systems can be met. In a first-of-its-kind study published in JCO Global Oncology, Liza-Marie Johnson, MD, MPH, MSB, St. Jude Department of Oncology, retrospectively examined the countries of origin and experiences of 372 international patients seen at St. Jude between August 2009 and June 2019. The study revealed that the largest percentage of patients (48.7%) came from the Latin America and Caribbean region, with almost half of all international patients coming from upper-middle-resourced countries. Just 1.6% of patients were from low-resourced countries.

“This study shows that while St. Jude receives and treats patients from all over the world, patients in areas where there is the greatest burden of disease and survival just aren’t able to get here,” said Johnson. This highlights the need to bolster global capacity for pediatric oncology care, an initiative St. Jude Global is working on through collaborations with international partners. “This tells me that our work is not done and that we should be viewing these gaps as an opportunity to help children live full, flourishing lives, regardless of their country of origin.” 

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