An International Aircraft Transport of a Neonate From Georgia to Japan

Abstract

International air transport over long distances necessitates considerable effort. It is even more challenging when the patient is a neonate and has a congenital disease. We hereby report a case of an international aircraft transport of a neonate from Tbilisi, Georgia to Osaka, Japan. The patient was transported to Osaka University Hospital after being diagnosed with a double outlet right ventricle (DORV), requiring surgical intervention. This unique experience has raised four issues: 1) language issues for referral and consultation; 2) medical equipment and healthcare professionals required to accompany the transport for adequate care; 3) scheduling of the international flight; and 4) the administrative procedures such as birth certificate, passport, and healthcare insurance. In this report, we describe how the patient was successfully transported, received treatment, and discharged home.

Foreign Patients Visiting the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review of Studies in Japan

“…Linguistic assistance could aid communication to inform patients in detail about their health status (38) , (39) , and inadequate communication could have led to an excess amount of discharge for foreign patients. Furthermore, as foreign patients are more likely to experience financial and linguistic difficulties than local patients (40) , a lack of effective communication may have increased the risk of outstanding accounts, when medical staff could not have provided information regarding the medical expenses necessary for treatment. As studies in this review have highlighted, providing linguistic assistance and financial support to indemnify for the outstanding accounts from foreign patients would be necessary when promoting Japanese hospitals to accept foreign patients in the emergency departments.…”