Where the Best Interests of Uninsured Foreign Patients and U.S. Hospitals Align
901-684-6036 info@blatteislaw.com
Blatteis Law Firm, PLLC
MEDICAL REPATRIATION
An ethical, legal and significantly more cost-effective solution to serve the long-term healthcare needs of uninsured, medically incapacitated, foreign patients in U.S. hospitals.
WHEN TO CONSIDER MEDICAL REPATRIATON
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Undocumented foreign patient -- Foreign patient is currently hospitalized in U.S, originally due to a medical emergency.
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No U.S. Health Insurance -- There is no U.S. healthcare insurance nor Medicare, Medicaid or alternative insurance option available for the patient.
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Unable to care for himself or herself -- Patient no longer needs acute care attention, but patient is no longer capable of caring for himself or herself.
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Ready for discharge -- Patient is ready for discharge to a responsible caregiver, be it family or a medical service provider.
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No U.S. Family or Friend Caregiver -- There is no relative or caregiver available in U.S. to provide post-hospital care for patient.
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No alternative U.S. healthcare facility option -- No U.S. based Assisted Living, Rehabilitative or Long-term Care Facility will accept the patient.
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Patient better served psychologically, physically, and emotionally with family back home -- Patient or authorized healthcare decisionmaker and patient’s family overseas want patient to return home to patient's country to be looked after with appropriate level of care in a familiar environment, language, and culture.
Medical Repatriation
Aligning the Best Interests of Patient and Hospital
Properly conducted Medical Repatriations significantly reduce the high risk and costs for U.S. Acute-Care hospitals associated with providing care for foreign, uninsured patients, who are ready for discharge, but who can't care for themselves and who have no U.S. person or facility to care for them either. Yet, many hospitals are creating unnecessary risk for themselves by doing Medical Repatriations the wrong way. See our list of risks and solutions.
CLIENTS
The Blatteis Law Firm, PLLC provides an objective and ethical approach to conducting due diligence and Medical Repatriation, without conflicts of interest. Although we represent the U.S. Hospital, we make sure that each Medical Repatriation is in the best interests of the patient, otherwise we would advise against proceeding forward. As attorneys, we work with foreign family, consulates, hospitals and foreign consulates to identify viable options, obtain travel documents, conduct the due diligence and prepare bilingual contracts to secure informed consent from the patient or their authorized representative.
Look at some of our example scenarios to better understand if your case would be appropriate to consider for medical repatriation. Sometimes what seems to be hopeless is not hopeless at all. It certainly may be worth a consultation to evaluate if it is worth proceeding forward to the due diligence stage and subsequent medical repatriation. (Note: For HIPAA compliance purposes, while drawn from life, the examples have been altered sufficiently to protect Hospital client and patient confidential information.)
Medical Repatriation
Defined
“Medical Repatriation” is the voluntary international transfer of a patient to family or a medical facility in the patient’s home country that can provide appropriate care as confirmed through due diligence and informed consent by the patient or on the patient's behalf by the patient's surrogate or legal representative beforehand, be it family or a legal guardian.
This website is provided for information purposes only and should not be considered as or a substitute for legal advice. Please read our legal disclaimer.
Contact us:
275 S. Walnut Bend, Suite 104
Memphis, TN 38018
Phone: 901-684-6036
Fax: 901-672-6846
Email: info@blatteislaw.com
