Background and Aim: The World Health Organization considers the implementation of the referral system to be a key step in improving the quality of services in health care systems. The purpose of this study was to explain the executive challenges of the electronic referral system in Golestan Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Golestan Province, Iran in 2...

Background: Recognition and referral of sick children to a facility where they can obtain appropriate treatment is critical for helping reduce child mortality. A well-functioning referral system and compliance by caretakers with referrals are essential. This paper examines referral patterns for sick children, and factors that influence caretakers' compliance with referral of sick children to hi...

This paper studies service systems with gatekeepers who diagnose a customer problem and then either refer the customer to an expert or attempt treatment. We determine the staffing levels and referral rates that minimise the sum of staffing, customer waiting, and mistreatment costs. We also compare the optimal gatekeeper system (a two-tier system) with a system staffed with only experts (a direc...

BACKGROUND The main objective of this study is to establish a benchmark for referral rates in rural Niger so as to allow interpretation of routine referral data to assess the performance of the referral system in Niger. METHODS Strict and controlled application of existing clinical decision trees in a sample of rural health centres allowed the estimation of the corresponding need for and char...

BACKGROUND Supporting the diverse needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV) can help reduce the individual and structural barriers they face in adhering to antiretroviral treatment (ART). The Livelihoods and Food Security Technical Assistance II (LIFT) project sought to improve adherence in Malawi by establishing 2 referral systems linking community-based economic strengthening and livelihoods se...