Bringing international patients to American hospitals: the Johns Hopkins perspective

American health care institutions are reaching out to the foreign market, assiduously cultivating patients from overseas. This innovative strategy, designed in part to help U.S. medical centers cope with cuts in federal funding, HMO pressures, and decreasing patient volumes, dovetails nicely with the current climate of global expansion in business and worldwide awareness of American medical expertise. This article describes the International Services Program at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The author and program director addresses its origins, implementation, outcomes, and the obstacles planners faced in launching a vigorous, international outreach initiative.