Pub Date : 2021-08-30DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.99607
N. Al-Shorbaji
Healthcare has been going through major digital transformations due to the extensive use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the sector. Many patients lack access to healthcare services due to lack of knowledge of the exitance of the service, physical or mental disability, distance, siege, lockdown and other possible reasons. Access to healthcare services has been impacted by a number of innovations including electronic health record, artificial intelligence, sensors, wearable devices, Internet of (medical) things, Blockchain, big data and other applications. COVID-19 has created new realities in accessing healthcare services through telehealth and telemedicine services as many countries have imposed lockdown and physical distancing. Digital health has been used to empower people, in general and patients in particular, to enable them to access healthcare services at the point of care or remotely. Healthcare professionals have been using digital health to enhance their knowledge, skills and more important to enable them to reach to patients to provide guidance and assistance. Using digital health solutions has a number of challenges which can be legal, ethical, infrastructural, human and material resources, training, education, attitude, cultural, organizational and behavioral. A number of national, regional and international agencies have adopted resolutions and developed strategies to support digital health implementation in countries. This chapter provides few examples to demonstrate how access to healthcare services is being enabled and facilitated by information and communication technology (ICT) through proper national planning of digital health.
{"title":"Improving Healthcare Access through Digital Health: The Use of Information and Communication Technologies","authors":"N. Al-Shorbaji","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.99607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99607","url":null,"abstract":"Healthcare has been going through major digital transformations due to the extensive use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the sector. Many patients lack access to healthcare services due to lack of knowledge of the exitance of the service, physical or mental disability, distance, siege, lockdown and other possible reasons. Access to healthcare services has been impacted by a number of innovations including electronic health record, artificial intelligence, sensors, wearable devices, Internet of (medical) things, Blockchain, big data and other applications. COVID-19 has created new realities in accessing healthcare services through telehealth and telemedicine services as many countries have imposed lockdown and physical distancing. Digital health has been used to empower people, in general and patients in particular, to enable them to access healthcare services at the point of care or remotely. Healthcare professionals have been using digital health to enhance their knowledge, skills and more important to enable them to reach to patients to provide guidance and assistance. Using digital health solutions has a number of challenges which can be legal, ethical, infrastructural, human and material resources, training, education, attitude, cultural, organizational and behavioral. A number of national, regional and international agencies have adopted resolutions and developed strategies to support digital health implementation in countries. This chapter provides few examples to demonstrate how access to healthcare services is being enabled and facilitated by information and communication technology (ICT) through proper national planning of digital health.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129873905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-23DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.99578
Isaac Akintoyese Oyekola;, O. Ajani, E. Oyeyipo
Population is ageing rapidly in all regions of the world and unreliable health care financing is capable of hindering older people from seeking competent medical attention which in turn may lead to their suffering, insecurity and/or death. In Africa, lack of access to reliable health care financing in old age poses serious development challenges and it is detrimental to healthy ageing, especially because elderly population are known to be facing various health challenges which require huge financial costs. Existing studies have shown that it is not sufficient to provide reliable health care financing for older people, it is more important to provide them access to these services. Ensuring that the elderly population has access to reliable health care financing in particular as well as other available and possible social support mechanisms that may encourage the provision of and access to reliable health care financing in general is a challenge and very key to healthy ageing. Through authors’ experiences in the health care system, narrative review of existing literature and interactions with some elderly people, this article explores various factors influencing older people’s access to reliable health care financing. It is believed that understanding of factors influencing access to reliable health care financing among older people in Africa will go a long way in directing policies toward the right course.
{"title":"Factors Influencing Access to Reliable Health Care Financing among Elderly Population in Africa","authors":"Isaac Akintoyese Oyekola;, O. Ajani, E. Oyeyipo","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.99578","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99578","url":null,"abstract":"Population is ageing rapidly in all regions of the world and unreliable health care financing is capable of hindering older people from seeking competent medical attention which in turn may lead to their suffering, insecurity and/or death. In Africa, lack of access to reliable health care financing in old age poses serious development challenges and it is detrimental to healthy ageing, especially because elderly population are known to be facing various health challenges which require huge financial costs. Existing studies have shown that it is not sufficient to provide reliable health care financing for older people, it is more important to provide them access to these services. Ensuring that the elderly population has access to reliable health care financing in particular as well as other available and possible social support mechanisms that may encourage the provision of and access to reliable health care financing in general is a challenge and very key to healthy ageing. Through authors’ experiences in the health care system, narrative review of existing literature and interactions with some elderly people, this article explores various factors influencing older people’s access to reliable health care financing. It is believed that understanding of factors influencing access to reliable health care financing among older people in Africa will go a long way in directing policies toward the right course.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134050014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-19DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.99290
N. Etukudoh, U. Obeta
Patients’ (clients/customer) services and satisfaction in Medical Laboratory Services and general healthcare is one of the twelve (12) quality essentials of Total Quality Management System (TQMS) emphasized by quality standards as seen in ISO 17025, ISO 15189 and ISO 9001. The patients otherwise referred to as customers or clients to Medical Laboratory and healthcare in general, is the heart-beat and kings to the healthcare system. This chapter looks into the quality aspect of medical laboratory services from the patients’ angle towards thorough satisfaction or dissatisfaction index and otherwise creates room for improvement in the services and healthcare in general. The chapter therefore, identified medical laboratory clients to include patients and patients’ relations, physicians and other healthcare workers, public health and government, communities and interested parties, and medical laboratory profession. There is a need to administer services satisfaction survey developed by Director of Medical Laboratory Services or human resources/quality officers in line with the ISO 15189, ISO 17075 and ISO 9001 to customers/clients from time to time so the outcome can be used to correct services errors and cause quality improvement. It is believed that patients’ satisfaction causes improvement in healthcare, quick recovery of patients and willingness of the patient to return to the healthcare facility in future. Patients’ and customers’ in medical laboratory feedback contributes to quality management and improvement to Medical Laboratory services and healthcare as an ingredient of TQMS.
{"title":"Patients’ (Clients) Satisfaction with Medical Laboratory Services Contributes to Health and Quality Improvement","authors":"N. Etukudoh, U. Obeta","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.99290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99290","url":null,"abstract":"Patients’ (clients/customer) services and satisfaction in Medical Laboratory Services and general healthcare is one of the twelve (12) quality essentials of Total Quality Management System (TQMS) emphasized by quality standards as seen in ISO 17025, ISO 15189 and ISO 9001. The patients otherwise referred to as customers or clients to Medical Laboratory and healthcare in general, is the heart-beat and kings to the healthcare system. This chapter looks into the quality aspect of medical laboratory services from the patients’ angle towards thorough satisfaction or dissatisfaction index and otherwise creates room for improvement in the services and healthcare in general. The chapter therefore, identified medical laboratory clients to include patients and patients’ relations, physicians and other healthcare workers, public health and government, communities and interested parties, and medical laboratory profession. There is a need to administer services satisfaction survey developed by Director of Medical Laboratory Services or human resources/quality officers in line with the ISO 15189, ISO 17075 and ISO 9001 to customers/clients from time to time so the outcome can be used to correct services errors and cause quality improvement. It is believed that patients’ satisfaction causes improvement in healthcare, quick recovery of patients and willingness of the patient to return to the healthcare facility in future. Patients’ and customers’ in medical laboratory feedback contributes to quality management and improvement to Medical Laboratory services and healthcare as an ingredient of TQMS.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131588229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-16DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.99174
M. Takayama
Better human healthcare is achieved by increasing the fair use and accessibility of medical information. While this optimism is believed, real-world healthcare can be severely affected by the knowledge and context shared in the healthcare industry and academia. Through the sharing process, the central perception gains consensus in the industry and academic societies and standardized therapies are unified and spread quickly. In this way, mainstreamers’ contexts quickly become standardized. Consequently, the mainstream has hegemony and can be strengthened. Mainstreamers neglect any information different from standardized knowledge and therapy. It is universally known that hegemony stabilize its position by undermining the fair use and accessibility of information. The use of patterned knowledge facilitates the utility of medical information. Smart ICT seems to realize the smart use of medical information in our daily lives as well as professional exercises. The method to eliminate such evils and realize true health care is required. The fair use and accessibility contribute to the utility of medical knowledge to end-users. The effect and influence of the commons of information are shown as a solution to eliminating adverse events caused by the hegemonic mainstream. As the most effective means in the coming digital healthcare era, this paper shows the following three points. (1) Allow commons of information to enable fair use and search of information. (2) The commons of information release the cognitive bias set by the measure. (3) By creating such a new theory, we will develop a new field called healthcare digital management and/or healthcare digital economics.
{"title":"Medical Hegemony and Healthcare: Centrality in Healthcare","authors":"M. Takayama","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.99174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99174","url":null,"abstract":"Better human healthcare is achieved by increasing the fair use and accessibility of medical information. While this optimism is believed, real-world healthcare can be severely affected by the knowledge and context shared in the healthcare industry and academia. Through the sharing process, the central perception gains consensus in the industry and academic societies and standardized therapies are unified and spread quickly. In this way, mainstreamers’ contexts quickly become standardized. Consequently, the mainstream has hegemony and can be strengthened. Mainstreamers neglect any information different from standardized knowledge and therapy. It is universally known that hegemony stabilize its position by undermining the fair use and accessibility of information. The use of patterned knowledge facilitates the utility of medical information. Smart ICT seems to realize the smart use of medical information in our daily lives as well as professional exercises. The method to eliminate such evils and realize true health care is required. The fair use and accessibility contribute to the utility of medical knowledge to end-users. The effect and influence of the commons of information are shown as a solution to eliminating adverse events caused by the hegemonic mainstream. As the most effective means in the coming digital healthcare era, this paper shows the following three points. (1) Allow commons of information to enable fair use and search of information. (2) The commons of information release the cognitive bias set by the measure. (3) By creating such a new theory, we will develop a new field called healthcare digital management and/or healthcare digital economics.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133345030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-29DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.98605
Gisele Mariel de Sousa Vasconcelos, A. Bibiano, Lucas Fernando Rodrigues dos Santos, R. Moreira
The objective of the research was to analyze the factors associated with the use of health services by elderly men in the Northeast region of Brazil. Cross-sectional analytical study with a secondary database of elderly men (n = 3238). The dependent variable was composed of the profiles of the use of health services and the independent variables were factors of predisposition, capacity, and health need. The statistical association and effect were performed using the Rao-Scott test with p < 0.05 and multinomial logistic regression. Elderly men with worse social indicators had a risk effect for using medium/high complexity services and those who had better health indicators were associated with sporadic medical appointment, revealing that health care for elderly men is centered on curative and rehabilitative care and that the use of health services is associated with the worst social indicators.
{"title":"Associated Factors and Use of Health Services by Elderly Men in Northeast Brazil","authors":"Gisele Mariel de Sousa Vasconcelos, A. Bibiano, Lucas Fernando Rodrigues dos Santos, R. Moreira","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.98605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98605","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of the research was to analyze the factors associated with the use of health services by elderly men in the Northeast region of Brazil. Cross-sectional analytical study with a secondary database of elderly men (n = 3238). The dependent variable was composed of the profiles of the use of health services and the independent variables were factors of predisposition, capacity, and health need. The statistical association and effect were performed using the Rao-Scott test with p < 0.05 and multinomial logistic regression. Elderly men with worse social indicators had a risk effect for using medium/high complexity services and those who had better health indicators were associated with sporadic medical appointment, revealing that health care for elderly men is centered on curative and rehabilitative care and that the use of health services is associated with the worst social indicators.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114663029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-20DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98915
Alireza Ghorbani
Healthy human beings are the center of sustainable development, and human beings have long sought to maintain and improve their health by increasing their health reserves. In general, the use of services or the demand for medical services has a vital role in improving the level of health of each person. The demand for health care is a demand derived from the demand for health and is influenced by several factors, including price, income, population, etc.
{"title":"Demand for Health and Healthcare","authors":"Alireza Ghorbani","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98915","url":null,"abstract":"Healthy human beings are the center of sustainable development, and human beings have long sought to maintain and improve their health by increasing their health reserves. In general, the use of services or the demand for medical services has a vital role in improving the level of health of each person. The demand for health care is a demand derived from the demand for health and is influenced by several factors, including price, income, population, etc.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129608173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-19DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98682
I. Nola, Z. Radovčić
Today, medical tourism is underrated and mostly perceived as a beauty tourism. However, except dermatological and dental services also organ transplantation, IVF and many other therapies are well present in medical tourism travel arrangements. Medical tourism without any doubt impacts access to healthcare. Healthcare system in many countries allows access to some of these services but all-around world approaches differ. We believe that healthcare access could greatly benefit by opening this kind of services to wider population while at the same time not endangering patient’ safety. Harmonized propositions, accreditations and certificates for medical tourism industry access covered by both, private and public health insurances, would contribute to service transparency and patient’ safety while taking care of moral aspects of such services. Therefore, if consciously incorporated, medical tourism, as a part of global healthcare could easily become an efficient and effective additional access to healthcare.
{"title":"Impacts of Medical Tourism on Healthcare Access","authors":"I. Nola, Z. Radovčić","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98682","url":null,"abstract":"Today, medical tourism is underrated and mostly perceived as a beauty tourism. However, except dermatological and dental services also organ transplantation, IVF and many other therapies are well present in medical tourism travel arrangements. Medical tourism without any doubt impacts access to healthcare. Healthcare system in many countries allows access to some of these services but all-around world approaches differ. We believe that healthcare access could greatly benefit by opening this kind of services to wider population while at the same time not endangering patient’ safety. Harmonized propositions, accreditations and certificates for medical tourism industry access covered by both, private and public health insurances, would contribute to service transparency and patient’ safety while taking care of moral aspects of such services. Therefore, if consciously incorporated, medical tourism, as a part of global healthcare could easily become an efficient and effective additional access to healthcare.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"76 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115300855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-06DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98752
G. Athanasiou, C. Bachtsetzis
Patient-doctor relationship has traditionally been paternalistic, in which the doctor decided on behalf of the patient. It focused mainly between the patient who called for help and the doctor whose decisions had to be silently observed and followed by the patient. In this paternalistic model, the physician used his skills to choose the necessary interventions and treatments that were likely to restore the health of the patient. All the information given to the patient was selected to encourage them to consent to the doctor’s decisions. This definition of the asymmetric or unbalanced interaction between physicians and patients has begun to be questioned over the last 20 years. There has been a shift from this direction to one where the patient is more informed, empowered, and independent - a move from a “paternalistic” to a more “complementary” relationship. Critics suggested a more active, autonomous patient-centered role which supports greater patient control, reduced doctors’ dominance, and a more mutual participation. This approach has been described as one where the doctor attempts to enter the patient’s world to see the disease with the eyes of the patient and is becoming the predominant model in clinical practice today.
{"title":"Shared Decision-Making towards a Higher Quality of Care: Is this the Norm?","authors":"G. Athanasiou, C. Bachtsetzis","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.98752","url":null,"abstract":"Patient-doctor relationship has traditionally been paternalistic, in which the doctor decided on behalf of the patient. It focused mainly between the patient who called for help and the doctor whose decisions had to be silently observed and followed by the patient. In this paternalistic model, the physician used his skills to choose the necessary interventions and treatments that were likely to restore the health of the patient. All the information given to the patient was selected to encourage them to consent to the doctor’s decisions. This definition of the asymmetric or unbalanced interaction between physicians and patients has begun to be questioned over the last 20 years. There has been a shift from this direction to one where the patient is more informed, empowered, and independent - a move from a “paternalistic” to a more “complementary” relationship. Critics suggested a more active, autonomous patient-centered role which supports greater patient control, reduced doctors’ dominance, and a more mutual participation. This approach has been described as one where the doctor attempts to enter the patient’s world to see the disease with the eyes of the patient and is becoming the predominant model in clinical practice today.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117260887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-01DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.97411
G. Chorwe-Sungani
Depression significantly contributes to the disease burden of pregnant women. However, depression is often under diagnosed by health professionals especially in antenatal clinics. This is the situation in Malawi where there is no routine screening for depression in antenatal clinics. Nonetheless, screening can enable the effective management of pregnant women with depression at antenatal clinics. There is therefore a need to integrate screening for depression into routine antenatal services to enhance the early identification of antenatal depression and intervention to improve and maintain the well-being of pregnant women and contribute towards achieving the efforts of the Government of Malawi in scaling up the treatment of depression.
{"title":"Screening for Antenatal Depression by Midwives in Low Resource Settings in Primary Care Settings in Malawi","authors":"G. Chorwe-Sungani","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.97411","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.97411","url":null,"abstract":"Depression significantly contributes to the disease burden of pregnant women. However, depression is often under diagnosed by health professionals especially in antenatal clinics. This is the situation in Malawi where there is no routine screening for depression in antenatal clinics. Nonetheless, screening can enable the effective management of pregnant women with depression at antenatal clinics. There is therefore a need to integrate screening for depression into routine antenatal services to enhance the early identification of antenatal depression and intervention to improve and maintain the well-being of pregnant women and contribute towards achieving the efforts of the Government of Malawi in scaling up the treatment of depression.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117143355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-24DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.98574
Abdulnasir Falah Al Jazairi, Guillaume Alinier
Access to emergency services is essential for the health and well-being of people. The World Health Organization (WHO) made it a human right for everybody to have access to emergency care and it is an ethical obligation for governments to provide this service for the whole population. In recent years, the overcrowding in emergency departments has become a prominent issue that needs proper solutions. There have been several attempts resolving this ongoing issue. One of those is the patients’ distribution according to the severity level of their chief complaint, since more than half of the urgent cases are of low acuity and can be managed in less equipped facilities. Primary healthcare centers are perfectly suited to look after a significant proportion of cases for many reasons such as their scope of service, their wider geographical distribution, and are a more cost-effective resource for such cases than the use of higher acuity facilities. In Qatar, we have been implementing such model of patient distribution to release the burden on emergency departments since 1999. In this chapter we are proposing a full protocol to distribute emergency patients involving the ambulance service, primary healthcare centers, and emergency departments. Cooperation of all these services with the help of higher authorities and media is expected to show great improvements in patient care and better crowd control in emergency departments.
{"title":"Access to Emergency Health Care","authors":"Abdulnasir Falah Al Jazairi, Guillaume Alinier","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.98574","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98574","url":null,"abstract":"Access to emergency services is essential for the health and well-being of people. The World Health Organization (WHO) made it a human right for everybody to have access to emergency care and it is an ethical obligation for governments to provide this service for the whole population. In recent years, the overcrowding in emergency departments has become a prominent issue that needs proper solutions. There have been several attempts resolving this ongoing issue. One of those is the patients’ distribution according to the severity level of their chief complaint, since more than half of the urgent cases are of low acuity and can be managed in less equipped facilities. Primary healthcare centers are perfectly suited to look after a significant proportion of cases for many reasons such as their scope of service, their wider geographical distribution, and are a more cost-effective resource for such cases than the use of higher acuity facilities. In Qatar, we have been implementing such model of patient distribution to release the burden on emergency departments since 1999. In this chapter we are proposing a full protocol to distribute emergency patients involving the ambulance service, primary healthcare centers, and emergency departments. Cooperation of all these services with the help of higher authorities and media is expected to show great improvements in patient care and better crowd control in emergency departments.","PeriodicalId":120648,"journal":{"name":"Healthcare Access [Working Title]","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115671358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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