OBJECTIVES In China, the rate of downward referral is relatively low, as most people are unwilling to be referred from hospitals to community health systems (CHSs). The aim of this study was to explore the effect of doctors' and patients' practices and attitudes on their willingness for downward referral and the relationship between downward referral and sociodemographic characteristics. METH...

INTRODUCTION Health care delivery systems in rural areas face numerous challenges in meeting the community's needs. This study aimed to describe barriers of health care process in rural societies in Iran. METHODS In this qualitative study, 26 participants (21 rural health care providers and five rural patients) were selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected via semi-structur...

BACKGROUND In Saudi Arabia, the mortality of diabetes is currently reported at 6%. A well-administered referral system is crucial in aiding the management of this disease. METHOD A single reviewer employed a systematic approach to searching the literature databases with regard to the question: what are the attributes of referral systems in Saudi Arabia for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D)?...

The first nationwide study on a patient referral system was conducted in Honduras. It covered all 25 public hospitals (six National, five Regional and 14 Area Hospitals) and 24 major health centres. Based on 46,739 reviews of patient records, 226 'received referral' and 1072 'sent referral' cases were analyzed by age and sex of the patient, diagnosis on referral, institution from or to which th...

Injury is a growing public health concern worldwide. Since severe injuries require urgent treatment, involving smooth, timely patient referral between facilities, strengthening of the referral system would reduce injury mortality. Smooth referral consists of identification of severe cases, organization of transportation, communication between facilities and prompt care at the receiving facility...

background: medical error is defined as an adverse event caused by medical management, which can be prevented. the aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial diseases made by health care practitioners. methods: a descriptive cross sectional study was done between apr. 2009 and mar.2010. 372 patients with oral and maxillofacial lesions who had referr...