HJLR May/Jun 2019

52 MAY / JUN 2019 I  Healthcare Journal of LITTLE ROCK dialogue column Director’s Desk Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections caused by a variety of common and unusual bacteria, fungi, and viruses that develop while a patient is receiving medi- cal care. Nationally, about 1 in 25 inpatients have an infec- tion related to hospital care. Because HAIs are preventable, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has a dedicated program that reaches out to healthcare facilities to provide training, surveillance, and outbreak response to HAIs that are reported in Arkansas. Earlier this year, Arkansas was involved in a large-scale out- break investigation. The outbreak, and subsequent investigation, was unusual in that it not only spanned multiple states, but also crossed an international border. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention (CDC) identified 20 people who had a highly drug-resistant infection related to surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. Most people had gone to the healthcare facility in Mexico in order to have weight loss surgery. Why did these people have surgery in Mexico?The answer is medical tourism. Medical tourism is when individuals travel outside their home country for medical treatment, often to less-developed countries where the cost of treatment is relatively low. Medical tourism is a multibillion dollar industry that is expected to grow substantially in the next 5–10 years. The healthcare sought has traditionally been elective procedures such as cosmetic surgery, dental care, infertility treatments, and weight loss surgery. Over the past few years there has been an increase in people seeking medically necessary treatment, MEDICAL TOURISM