h a l f b a k e r ySugar and spice and unfettered insensibility.
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In a recent trip to Florida, I was astounded at the size and
number of modern cruise ships. This wasn't the first time, I was
also astounded at the size and number of cruise ships when
driving along the coast road above La Spezia. It appears they
are popular.
There's a few things that play
into this industry, the scale and
schedule combine to make a very predictable economic model.
The regulatory environment can be "leveraged" as I believe a
business person might say: You can register your ship
somewhere cheap e.g. Panama, your energy source is untaxed.
You can source staff from the cheapest possible places and
adhere to minimum tax/labor laws. In this way you can bring
mass production to the business of getting a couple from Illinois
fed, entertained and drunk next to a sunny pool for a week.
This makes the product relatively cheap.
Something else that is a thing, is health tourism. Healthcare in
1st world nations is staggeringly expensive. Many people
wanting treatment for non-urgent things travel to countries
where the care costs less. This makes sense when the cost of
one bed for one night exceeds that of almost any return flight.
Similar to cruise ships, lower labor costs and slacker regulations
can make for a vastly cheaper product.
Why not combine the two? We can equip a cruise ship with
multiple diagnostic, surgical, dental & lab facilities staffed by
the most affordable technicians, doctors, dentists & nurses the
globalized world can provide. Passengers pick their procedures
in the booking process so everything can be arranged for
maximum efficiency. Now our Illinois couple can get a new hip,
dental implants, a cataract removed, hair plugs and a
complementary MRI, while basking on their small but sunny
balcony in between. All in the economically-efficient
environment provided by international waters.
Doc's first stop, UN CitizenShip
SS_20UN_20CitizenShip
then on to a placement in Medical Tourism [Sgt Teacup, Mar 23 2022]
[link]
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This is a great idea. Park these things 12 miles off
shore, outside of territorial waters and anything
goes, maritime law. Pretty sure murder is okay
under maritime law as long as you're wearing a
cool pirate outfit. |
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Or elect one of our travel / surgery packages. |
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Enhanced chest to Bucharest. |
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But seriously, stupid names aside, this could be a
thing. [+] |
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Look-good nuder to Bermuda. No more hair-loss to
Barbados. Computed - Tomography around some
geography. The marketing writes itself. |
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I'd just change "nuder" to "nuda" having some guy
from Brooklyn being the salesman. |
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And how about the bonus points for the CT scan
reference? I'll hold up a 7 card for that one. |
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CT scan with contrast, on your way to Belfast. |
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Too obscure? Might need a proper English accent to
get those vowels matching. |
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CT scan to Japan of course. |
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Via some dodgy country to pick up the transplant
kidneys and livers in the middle of the night? |
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Convert a couple of oligarch yachts as flagships and
I'm sold on this idea as incredibly sensible. |
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Supplies could be tricky to time, and viruses on
cruise ships are an issue, but I don't see those as
show-stoppers. |
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To be fair, virus issues outside cruise ships are an issue. |
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//..proper English accent...//
An Australian accent works quite well.
//Supplies//
//viruses//
Hmm... virus kills patient; patient becomes organ donor for
transplant recipient. Win-win! |
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I got a line on a really good dentist just next to Yuma and
I'm planning to take a trip down there this summer. Love
this idea... It does appear to be Baked though, judging
from a1's link. |
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//An MRI machine is a pretty extensive kit though. Not sure
how large a surgical suite you need to hip replacement
either.// |
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MRI machines aren't what they were in terms of expense.
There are companies dotted around the US that JUST do
MRI scans as a service, usually just a nondescript strip mall
type of building. They can be as low as $150,000, up to
$1million for high end stuff. That's peanuts vs. what is
billed and also what a cruise ship costs. The key is to keep
them as busy as possible. The magnets are on all the time,
because they're superconducting electromagnets, the
current is induced and off it goes, 'round and 'round with no
losses. Until the cryogenic cooling fails for whatever
reason. So keep moving people through. |
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An orthopaedic surgery suite fits in a hospital. The hospital
out of my window has an orthopaedic surgery suite, and it's
much smaller than a cruise ship. Can definitely be done. |
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Since both cruise ships & hospital ships both already exist, you
just need to find a 2nd-hand one of each & get a shipyard to
do a cut-&-paste. I'm thinking accommodations up front (to
get the view) & medical down the back (nearer power supply
etc). |
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This idea could work as an adjunct to the UN CitizenShip (see link). The main premise of "Transplant" (CBC television show, debuted Feb. 2020) is that an incredibly talented immigrant Doctor has trouble transferring his credentials to practice medicine in Toronto. He is also suffering PTSD as a result of being shot at, bombed, and generally terrorized by insurgents in his home country. |
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If Bashir had found his way to the UN CitizenShip, the crack team of investigators* onboard could have verified his credentials and transferred him to the Medical Tourism ship as soon as he recovered. From there, he could get back to work to get his mind off of recent events, be fed and housed without prejudice, then decide where(if) he'd like to relocate, to the benefit of himself and society in general. |
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*The Investigators are, of course, unnamed white hat good guys, know a guy who knows a guy, and so forth, all very aboveboard. |
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As an added benefit, I know a more than one surgeon who
views surgery as the irritating chore that must be completed
between cruises. There's a deal to be cut there. |
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Now, if I could only work out how to get an operating theater
and patients right next to a golf course, surgeon recruitment
would take care of itself. |
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