title: Meeting the security challenges of wealthy foreign patients: how hospitals in one city are faring.
abstract: Seattle, WA, hospitals are among the many seeking to attract foreign patients. Seattle is conveniently located, relatively speaking to dozens of Pacific Rim countries with residents who have economic means to seek out first-class health care when they need it. Patients at Seattle hospitals now include Russians in large numbers, as well as significant numbers from Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam. Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, and neighboring North African nations. Treating foreign VIPs, however, can bring new challenges to hospital security departments. Many patients, along with their families and entourages, frequently have cultural expectations that differ from those held by many Americans. In one "worstcase" scenario, a hospital official cites behavior of some people who come from places "where it is all right to goose a woman or to pursue her openly." That kind of situation can escalate quickly, the official says. However, "we've had very good success sitting someone down and explaining in a good way that it is not OK to do that here and you can't do it again. Usually we have really good results, but if you go in like gangbusters, it could be a disaster." In this report, we'll describe some other security problems that can come with foreign patients and give details on how Seattle hospitals are meeting them.
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D015285:Hospital-Patient Relations; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D011641:Public Relations; D012637:Security Measures; D012923:Social Class; D014195:Travel; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control; D014861:Washington