Izvorni znanstveni članak
Trends in Referrals from Croatian Family Practice in Relation to Specialists’ Consultations: A Longitudinal Observational Study from 1995 to 2012
Ana Marija Sorić
; Health Center Zagreb-West, Zagreb, Croatia
Zrinka Livaković
; Health Center of Croatian Ministry of the Interior, Zagreb, Croatia
Senka Martinović-Galijašević
; Health Center Zagreb-Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Mladenka Vrcić Keglević
; Foundation for the Development of Family Medicine in Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
Sažetak
Drug prescribing and referrals to specialists’ consultations, as the indicators of the quality of health care, were not so
often monitored in Croatian family medicine. The aims of the study are to determine the trends of referrals from family
doctors to specialists’ consultations and the trends of specialists’ consultations utilization. The study is based on routinely
collected data from the Croatian Health Service Yearbooks, 1995–2012. The results indicate that from 1995 to 2012
the visits to family doctors almost doubled, while the number of referrals increased by 60%. The referral rate only slightly
increased, from 24 to 29% of the total number of visits. The number of specialists’ consultations showed continuous
growth and exceeded the number of referrals. The observed trends are not sufficient to explain referral patterns and utilization
of specialists’ services; therefore, a far more complex research is required.
Ključne riječi
referrals; specialists’ consultations; trends; family medicine; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
147525
URI
Datum izdavanja:
29.12.2014.
Posjeta: 765 *