CMO Duties at International Sporting Events

It's an array of sporting events, many occurring simultaneously, in sites and cities across a nation. The 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China presents an extraordinary challenge, in terms of providing health care to injured athletes and suddenly-ill spectators alike. Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, a practicing orthopedic surgeon and president of the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif., served as chief medical officer (CMO) for the 1999 and 2003 Women's World Cup of Soccer. He joins host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill to discuss the challenges of providing care in this setting. For instance, how does the CMO coordinate with the various team physicians, many of whom will not possess the necessary license to practice medicine in the country where their team is playing?