Strain on Providers
Those who provide care are often impacted by the level of care necessary to the patient due to the strain it puts on them when they are tasked to balance the health of several individuals at once. When the acuity of their patience rise, so does their stress which can lead to higher burnout rates.
Physician Strain
When American patients travel out of the country for cheaper procedures, they may return with post-op complications such as antibiotic-resistant infections. These infections and complications require complex and costly treatment by physicians back in the US. These treatments can be made even more difficult by the lack of access to complete medical records made when their patient was outside of the US. All these issues put further strain on physicians, which leads to higher burnout and ultimately exacerbates the physician shortage being seen in the US today.
Nursing Strain
Patients who travel outside the US are more likely to contract illnesses that aren't as well-known and readily available here in the US due to the state of development of the nation. However, when an individual comes in with a lesser-known disease, it puts RNs, LPNs, and CNAs alike at higher risk of contracting the illness that is being presented. This causes more stress on those who are providing direct care due to the fear of bringing home a potentially deadly disease to family and loved ones, as well as the added stress and waste provided by the continual donning and doffing of necessary PPE (personal protective equipment). Along with the fear, the constant donning and doffing of PPE can lead to skin breakdown as was seen during COVID-19, leading to open wounds, which puts the care staff at risk of developing other infections as well as causing pain and discomfort while working through their, often times, 12+ hour shift. All of this leads to burnout and ultimately staffing shortages, which cause more burnout due to heavier workloads on remaining staff.
Healthcare Worker Strain
There are many healthcare worker that are often behind the scenes, but are just as impacted as those heading care. This is including but not limited to, sterile processing, housekeeping, dining services, case management, staffing coordinators, nursing management, nursing coordinators, and so many others. All these people are there to make sure that care staff are able to properly take care of their patients, the patients are able to eat, and that the patients have a clean environment during their stay for treatment. When infectious diseases are brought into the healthcare setting this puts those staff who have minimal contact at risk as well and disrupts their flow. Without these individuals backing the nursing team, the care for patients would decrease in quality leading to poorer patient outcomes. When these essential individuals get sick or are not present it puts a strain on the rest of those working and interrupts the teams flow.