Investigation on morbidity in an admission department in a university hospital

Abstract

Primary Care is the doorway to the health system but there are barriers, which often block the access. Our goal was to assess the disease profile, the origin and the reasons why patients were sent to Outpatient Primary Care services. 252 patients have answered questionnaires on the following points: age, sex, place of residence, the reason and the cause for having been sent to this kind of treatment, conclusions and diagnostic results (ICPC2). Most of them were women between 45 and 64 years of age, 25% came from other cities. Most of them were sent to this kind of treatment from the Pedro Ernesto University Hospital (33%), but half of the patients did not undergo regular medical treatment. The most common diagnoses were circulatory and endocrinal-metabolic problems, which could have been cared for in the primary and secondary levels of health care. The results suggest disorganization of the health system in our city and state, especially as far as primary care is concerned, and shows the need for actions aimed at reorganizing the system in both, in the city and in the state of Rio de Janeiro.