LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Antrinė sveikatos priežiūra; Bendradarbiavimas; Gydytojai specialistai; Pirminė sveikatos priežiūra; 'Secondary health care; Cooperation; Doctors-specialists; Primary health care; Secondary health care.
ENAim of the study – to evaluate the attitude of doctorsspecialists providing ambulatory services in Alytus region clinics towards the validity of family physicians’ issued referrals and measures to improve cooperation between primary and secondary health care link doctors. Methods. In August-October of 2014, 102 doctors-specialists providing ambulatory services in Alytus region clinics were surveyed using anonymous questionnaires. Results. According to the respondents, only 15.7 % of family physicians refer their patients for specialists’ consultancies reasonably, only one-third of them normally investigates the patient before sending him for a specialist’ advice (29.4 %) and diagnose the disease (31.4 %), 16.7 % of family physicians designate treatment, 39.2 % records the case history to the referral, 33.3 % records laboratory and instrumental studies. According to the surveyed doctorsspecialists, the cooperation between primary and secondary health care could be improved by family physicians’ professional education and continuous training (88.2 %), installation of a unified e-system (84.3 %), and the change of payment for services and financing model (71.6 %). Statistically significantly bigger proportion of therapeutic doctors-specialists indicated that family physicians, before referring a patient for specialist’s consultancy, examine him and diagnose disease, indicate data of laboratory and instrumental tests, applied treatment as well as its results compared to surgical doctors-specialists. Conclusions. According to doctors-specialists who provide ambulatory services opinion, cooperation between doctors of primary and secondary health care levels does not always go smoothly.In their view, cooperation between primary and secondary health care would be mostly improved by family physicians’ professional education and continuous training, installation of a unified e-system and the change of services payment and financing model. [From the publication]