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The Tacit Bargain in Short-Term Medical Missions Paul Henry Caldron 70 Onal Network, Including Highly Ty The Tacit Bargain in Short-Term Medical Bargain Missions inShort-Term The Tacit MAASTRICHT GRADUATE SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE The Tacit Bargain in Short-Term The Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) was founded in September 2004 at Maastricht University. The mission of the School is to Medical Missions train specialists who combine a high level of academic scholarship with leadership, in order to strengthen democratic governance in domestic and Why US Physicians Go and What It Costs international organizations, by focusing on policy analysis, risk assessment, policy design, monitoring and evaluation, and methodologies and techniques of policy research. MGSoG provides multi-disciplinary top-academic training in the heart of Europe. This is achieved by building on the academic resources of the different faculties at Maastricht University as well as those of several foreign partners. From 2011 onwards, the School has become part of the Paul Henry Caldron United Nations University, strengthening further its international training and research network while building on the expertise of UNU-MERIT, the Maastricht based research institute of the UNU. To guarantee both high academic quality and policy relevance, the MGSoG is closely involved with an extensive academic and professional network, including highly recognized organizations such as the OECD, ILO, UNDP, WB, IMF and EU. Paul HenryPaul Caldron www.boekenplan.nl ISBN 978 90 8666 407 8 70 Caldron_omslag_181016.pub vrijdag 21 oktober 2016 16:01 pagina 1 THE TACIT BARGAIN IN SHORT-TERM MEDICAL MISSIONS Why US Physicians Go and What It Costs © Paul Henry Caldron, 2016 ISBN: 978 90 8666 407 8 Published by Boekenplan, Maastricht www.boekenplan.nl All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission from the author. THE TACIT BARGAIN IN SHORT-TERM MEDICAL MISSIONS Why US Physicians Go and What It Costs DISSERTATION To obtain the degree of Doctor at Maastricht University on the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr. Rianne M. Letschert in accordance with the decision of the Board of Deans, to be defended in public on Wednesday, 23 November 2016, at 16:00 hours By Paul Henry Caldron Promoter: Prof. Dr. W.N.J. (Wim) Groot Co-Supervisors: Dr. Milena Pavlova Dr. Ann Impens, Midwestern University, USA Assessment Committee: Prof. Dr. J.A.M. (Hans) Maarse (chair) Prof. Dr. David Beyda, University of Arizona, USA Prof. Dr. Helmut Brand Prof. Dr. Annelies Boonen Prof. Dr. Judith Lasker, Lehigh University, USA Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: General Introduction ...................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: A Systematic Review of Social, Economic and Diplomatic Aspects of Short-Term Medical Missions ....................................................... 17 Chapter 3: The Physicians’ Giving Back Survey: Keeping up with American Generosity ........................................................................................................ 47 Chapter 4: Economic Assessment of US Physician Participation in Short- Term Medical Missions ................................................................................... 65 Chapter 5: Demographic Profile of Physician Participants in Short-Term Medical Missions ............................................................................................. 87 Chapter 6: Why Do They Care? Narratives of Physician Volunteers on Motivations for Participation in Short-Term Medical Missions Abroad ....... 107 Chapter 7: General Discussion ..................................................................... 145 Works Cited ................................................................................................... 171 Appendices ..................................................................................................... 189 Summary ........................................................................................................ 216 Valorization Addendum ................................................................................. 224 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... 227 Curriculum Vitae ........................................................................................... 229 MGSoG Dissertation Series ........................................................................... 232 List of Abbreviations STMM – short-term medical mission LMIC – low- and middle-income countries MSF – Médecins Sans Frontières NGO – Non-governmental organization MD – medical degree, Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of Medicine DO – medical degree, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine IMG – International Medical Graduate PGBS – Physicians’ Giving Back Survey DALYS – Disability adjusted life years saved PPACA - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act MGMA – Medical Group Management Association AMA – American Medical Association ACP - American College of Physicians ACS – American College of Surgeons USD – United States dollars vii Chapter 1: General Introduction 1 1.1 Scope of the Dissertation Short-term medical missions (STMMs) represent a form of grassroots, i.e., popular and non-hierarchical, transnational aid from persons in wealthy countries to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)1, wherein primarily professional services rather than funds or material are transferred. As this permutation of aid has developed in the last half century, the scant literature accumulated on this topic has touched on both the attractive and worrisome features of these missions, yet much remains unclear about its dimensions and dynamics. The scope of this dissertation is to identify and fill in some of the missing pieces in the picture of this ostensibly humanitarian activity. Beyond descriptive accounts, kudos, criticisms, and reflections on potential ethical conflicts, the discussion borne in the relatively sparse existing literature on STMMs lacks a more granular and dispassionate portrayal of the physicians who conduct these ‘excursions’, why they do it, and the provider- side ramifications of doing so. Beyond conjecture, an assessment of the magnitude of participation and expenditures related to the activity is missing. The relevance of the scope of this dissertation to physicians is heralded by the increasing participation among their peers, increasing attention of medical colleges and trainees to global health, and by articles and editorials on the topic in leading medical and surgical journals. The relevance to government and other policy makers is the need for more quantitative data in order to determine if this type of aid is of material consequence in terms of composite annual outlays of cash and man hours. This dissertation focuses on the dynamics of the physician side of STMMs, and thereby fills gaps in the picture of STMM activity regarding prevalence, motivations, and expenditures related to these missions, specifically for US physicians. The perspectives gained broaden the knowledge base regarding direct international humanitarian medical services. 1 World Bank list of economies, February 2014, siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/CLASS.XLS 2 1.2 Brief Overview of STMMs Descriptions and Parameters The pre-eminent features of STMMs, also referred to in the literature as short- term medical trips, short-term medical outreaches, or short-term medical service trips, are the short segments of time that the physician is continuously engaged in the process of providing medical services to persons in developing countries, and that the physicians pay the expenses to do this rather than receiving compensation. This dissertation confines itself specifically to STMMS that involve participation of physicians who are licensed for the full scope of medical practice in the US and excludes activities that may use the same or similar nomenclature, but do not include physician participation. One can identify physicians who spend years or even a career in foreign environments plying their medical and surgical skills away from their home countries. In that long-term setting, the physician’s livelihood derives from a funding organization or governmental body intended to support the activity. An STMM, in contrast, refers to periods of non-paid medical work, usually six weeks or less, performed by physicians whose livelihood is generated through their own private enterprise in their home country, or by paid employment within a private or public entity. Some physicians’ careers may include both long-term and short-term humanitarian work, though for the most part, it is one or the other. Martiniuk et.al. reviewed the literature on the subject of STMMs over a period of 25 years from 1985 through 2009 and found that four countries have been the source of most of these missions: United States of America (US), Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia (Martiniuk, Manouchehrian, Negin, & Zwi, 2012). These countries have notably common characteristics: British post- colonial status, language, Christian religious predominance, open democracies and ranking near the top of world scales for economic strength, transparency, and quality of life. The Spectrum of STMM Models Visualizing what a “mission” looks like on the ground is a bit complicated since there is very little
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