Professional paper
IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IN CROATIA ON THE CONTINUITY OF CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES IN FAMILY MEDICINE PRACTICE
IVA PETRIČUŠIĆ
; Family medicine practice Luca Petričušić, MD, Ivankovo, Croatia
*
LJILJANA ĆENAN
; Specialist family medicine practice Ljiljana Ćenan, MD, spec. family medicine, Ivankovo, Croatia
IVA ZABORSKI
; Vojnić Health Center, Vojnić, Croatia
JELENA RAKIĆ MATIĆ
; Zagreb West Health Center, Zagreb, Croatia
INES BALINT
; Specialist family medicine practice Ines Balint, MD, spec. family medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
ANA ĆENAN
; Student of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Introduction: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that lasted from March 2020 to May 2023, public health protection measures and recurring movement restrictions, popularly called lockdown, as well as limited use of health care greatly affected the active detection of the disease, as well as routine monitoring of chronic patients with diabetes.
Methods: A retrospective multicenter population study was conducted in 110 family medicine practices in the Republic of Croatia, monitoring the period from 2018 to 2021 to show the indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continuity of care and control of diabetes at the primary level of health care.
Results: The results obtained in the period of “lockdown” showed a noticeable decrease in the number of newly discovered patients with diabetes mellitus (2072 patients in 2019 vs 1880 patients in 2020), reduced prescribing of referrals for primary health care laboratories (decrease by 7.95 % in 2020 vs 2019), and a decrease in the number of examinations of patients in family practices. At the same time, there has been a visible trend of decreasing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values in the observed clinics, a higher proportion of telemedicine consultations, a higher number of prescribed A5 referrals (from 11 in total in 2019 to 208 A5 referrals in 2021), and a higher proportion of patients with diabetes mellitus with HbA1c less than 7 %.
Conclusion: With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, care for people with diabetes was, according to the observed indicators, less frequent and with more telemedicine consultations by family doctors. By declaring the end of the pandemic, preventive appropriate and targeted screenings are again gaining importance and it is expected that the trend of increasing
numbers of patients with diabetes, as well as more intensive monitoring and treatment of the already diagnosed, along with an increase in the number of consultations with hospital specialists, will continue for many years.
Keywords
diabetes; pandemic; coronavirus; family medicine; care
Hrčak ID:
331221
URI
Publication date:
16.5.2025.
Visits: 339 *