SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND

Due to political, economic, financial, educational but also other reasons(1–4) more and more people immigrate in to other countries of the world(5). In the last years globalisation(4) led to that today there are more than 214 million people worldwide who live in non-native countries(6). Studies demonstrate that people with a migration background have different barriers to access health care services(7,8), even though some have a high educational level(3), master the English language and have access to modern technology(2). Beside the language skills(9) another barrier is the lack of detailed knowledge and understanding about the structure of the health care system and its different country-related access points to its health care services(1,8,10–13). In case of healthcare problems this lack of knowledge and information leads to discomfort, insecurity and unnecessary emergency room visits in the hospitals(9,12,13), the most established and known access point(14). It also leads to lower health status(4), delayed diagnosis and treatments(15) among people with migration background.

Furthermore globalisation led to more then 1 billion tourists worldwide in 2012 with a yearly grows of 3,8 % up to 2030(16). Most of the tourists are exposed to local health problems due to unfamiliar climates, geographies, activities, foods, and time zones. Approximately “60-77% of the travellers to Africa, Asia or Latin America who stay for 1 month or more will suffer from illness. Of those affected, 5% will see the doctor and 1% will require hospitalization“(17). Most of the travellers are not planning in advance on needing health care services in a foreign country unless they would be in an emergency situation(17).

This means that in case of illness tourists are also unfamiliar with the structure of the system and face the same barriers as people with a migration background. To overcome these barriers for people with a migration background and tourists related to health care systems and its services and allow proper care for all healthcare issues whenever and wherever it is needed, a real time, language-independent and patient-friendly solution is required.

REFERENCES

1. Schoevers M a, Loeffen MJ, van den Muijsenbergh ME, Lagro-Janssen ALM. Health care utilisation and problems in accessing health care of female undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands. Int. J. Public Health. 2010;55(5):421–8.
2. Rechel B, Mladovsky P, Devillé W. Monitoring migrant health in Europe: a narrative review of data collection practices. Health Policy. Elsevier Ireland Ltd; 2012 Apr;105(1):10–6.
3. Parusel B. focus MIGRATION - Country profile Sweden. Hamburg; 2009. p. 1–11.
4. Hjern A. Migration and Public Health - Swedish National Public Health Report 2009. 2009 p. 1–25.
5. European Commission, Huber M, Stanciole A, Wahlbeck K, Tamsma N, Torres F, et al. Quality in and Equality of Access to Healthcare Services. 2008. p. 1–160.
6. International Organization for Migration. Global Estimates and Trends.
7. Perreira KM, Crosnoe R, Fortuny K, Pedroza J, Ulvestad K, Weiland C, et al. Barriers to immigrants’ access to health and human services programs. Washington DC; 2012. p. 1–19.
8. Scheppers E, van Dongen E, Dekker J, Geertzen J, Dekker J. Potential barriers to the use of health services among ethnic minorities: a review. Fam. Pract. 2006 Jun;23(3):325–48.
9. Kluge U, Bogic M, Devillé W, Greacen T, Dauvrin M, Dias S, et al. Health services and the treatment of immigrants: data on service use, interpreting services and immigrant staff members in services across Europe. Eur. Psychiatry. Elsevier; 2012 Jun;27 Suppl 2(June):S56–62.
10. Nielsen SS, Hempler NF, Waldorff FB, Kreiner S, Krasnik A. Is there equity in use of healthcare services among immigrants, their descendents, and ethnic Danes? Scand. J. Public Health. 2012 May;40(3):260–70.
11. Ngwakongnwi E, Hemmelgarn BR, Musto R, Quan H, King-Shier KM. Experiences of French speaking immigrants and non-immigrants accessing health care services in a large Canadian city. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health [Internet]. 2012 Oct [cited 2014 Jan 27];9(10):3755–68. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=3509478&tool=pmcent rez&rendertype=abstract
12. Mahmoud I, Hou X. Immigrants and the utilization of hospital emergency departments. 2012;3(4):245–50.
13. Norredam M, Mygind A, Nielsen AS, Bagger J, Krasnik A. Motivation and relevance of emergency room visits among immigrants and patients of Danish origin. Eur. J. Public Health. 2007 Oct;17(5):497–502.
14. Free C, White P, Shipman C, Dale J. Access to and use of out-of-hours services by members of Vietnamese community groups in South London: a focus group study. Fam. Pract. 1999 Aug;16(4):369–74.
15. Akhavan S. Midwives’ views on factors that contribute to health care inequalities among immigrants in Sweden: a qualitative study. Int. J. Equity Health. International Journal for Equity in Health; 2012;11(1):47.
16. No Title [Internet]. Available from: http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/annual_report_2012.pdf
17. Eray O, Kartal M, Sikka N, Goksu E, Yigit OE, Gungor F. Characteristics of tourist patients in an emergency department in a Mediterranean destination. Eur. J. Emerg. Med. [Internet]. 2008 Aug;15(4):214–7. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19078817

The goal of the patient healthcare connector is to guide people in the case of sickness and provide them with basic country-specific healthcare system information on what to do and where to go to get medical help and advice whenever and where ever it is needed.

By providing the needed information about country-specific healthcare systems and its healthcare facilities, the patient healthcare connector aims to make patients feel less afraid and more comfortable in their already difficult situation. Furthermore it should allow patients to seek help as early as needed to avoid emergency situations and hospital visits.

Therefore the patient healthcare connector links the country-specific healthcare facility and medical professional names with Google Maps to provide all possibilities and the needed information in the area of the patients location (e.g. transportation, website, phone number, opening hours of a pharmacy).

The patient healthcare connector can also be used on mobile devices!

nur auf englisch verfügbar!

nora kristiana v.

founder of the patient healthcare connector

I'm a Health Informatician with a passion for IT, technical innovations in the healthcare world, coding and continous learning. It is my goal to further develope the Patient Healthcare Connector to provide the right information about a healthcare system to people wherever and whenever they need it. Furthermore it should allow them to connect with healthcare professionals all over the world to make this world a healthier and better place. Im deeply aware about the fact that there are many other problems out there, which are related to non-native patients / tourists and healthcare services but I really believe that the information which is provided via the Patient Healthcare Connector will lead to more comfort and security in foreign patients, who are in need of a healthcare service and less unnecessary emergency visits.

If you are interested in joining the team, working with me or supporting me, please feel free to contact me at any time!

• GERMANY - Busse R, Blümel M. Germany: health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2014, 16(2):1–296.
• AUSTRIA - Hofmarcher M, Quentin W. Austria: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2013; 15(7): 1–291.
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