Journal of travel medicine
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There is speculation that a high number of migrants use free UK National Health Services to which they are not entitled. In response, the UK government has sought to develop and expand current overseas visitors (OVs) charging systems to target these noneligible migrants for payment. Current guidance to UK primary care providers is ambiguous, and little is known about existing procedures for dealing with new migrants. We aimed to explore the impact of OVs on primary care services and to assess the views of health-care providers about current charging systems. ⋯ We identified variations in current procedures for identifying and registering OVs, which may result in the inappropriate exclusion of new migrants from free primary care services in the UK. Our findings suggest that the number of OVs receiving free primary care services is low. We need to explore models of appropriate health-care delivery to new migrants in the UK context, drawing on models of best practice from established health services in other migrant-receiving countries.
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Research suggests that doctor-patient communication patterns and patient satisfaction are influenced by gender. However, little is known about the effect of gender in consultations with foreign language-speaking patients and in interpreter-mediated consultations. ⋯ Our results suggest that the presence of a professional interpreter may reduce gender-related communication barriers during medical encounters with foreign language-speaking patients.