Tracking medical repatriations to Mexico: Experiences from the field

Medical repatriations of undocumented and uninsured patients with chronic illnesses or catastrophic injuries initiated by American hospitals to Mexico have ramifications for patients and their families. Locating these patients after repatriation is challenging albeit critical to understanding this process and its impact. This report, part of a larger ongoing project, describes participant recruitment efforts with state actors and non-governmental organizations in Mexico that could have encounters with repatriated patients.

Following purposeful snowball sampling, contact was established with 5 national NGOs offering migrant services, governmental migrant service offices and hospitals in six states (and DF). Over 5 months, informal interviews and correspondence with health professionals, NGOs, and governmental staff were recorded in field-notes. To map the social and bureaucratic landscape, data was analyzed qualitatively.  Early findings suggest recruitment through governmental offices and hospitals yield more participants (6 cases) compared to NGOs. Efforts with NGOs have yielded no participants. Government agencies encounter patients seeking assistance post-repatriation or when Mexican consulates aide with transit visas for patients facing repatriation. Recruitment challenges include little follow-up by American hospitals, no tracking by U.S. authorities, and no patient registry. To overcome challenges, affiliations with a university and NGO were leveraged.

Few Mexican officials and healthcare professionals are knowledgeable of medical repatriations and have contact with patients pre/post-repatriation. Nescience of patients' repatriation histories may negatively affect treatment and wellbeing. American hospitals offer minimal coordination with Mexican institutions. Non-involvement by U.S. authorities to track repatriations hinders researchers and policy-makers in assessing the scope and impact of repatriations.