Surgical referral coordination from a first-level hospital: a prospective case study from rural Nepal.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients in isolated rural communities typically lack access to surgical care. It is not feasible for most rural first-level hospitals to provide a full suite of surgical specialty services. Comprehensive surgical care thus depends on referral systems. There is minimal literature, however, on the functioning of such systems.

Methods

We undertook a prospective case study of the referral and care coordination process for cardiac, orthopedic, plastic, gynecologic, and general surgical conditions at a district hospital in rural Nepal from 2012 to 2014. We assessed the referral process using the World Health Organization's Health Systems Framework.

Results

We followed the initial 292 patients referred for surgical services in the program. 152 patients (52%) rece

SUBMITTER: Fleming M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5613391 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature