Referral from Primary Healthcare to a Mental Health Institution in the Portuguese Countryside
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25752/psi.13391Keywords:
Referral, psychiatry, primary health careAbstract
Objectives: Analysis and characterization of primary health care referral to a Mental Health Department in Guarda Health Local Unit.
Type of Study: Observational and descriptive.
Sample: All referrals from primary health care, through ALERT P1® to the Mental Health Department Outpatient Clinic.
Methodology: Descriptive analysis of the selected variables, including quality of the referrals studied which were classified on a scale following specific recommendations.
Results: We included 163 referrals whose most frequent motive was “depressive disorder”. Only 2.5% were refused. Feminine sex and ages between 35-39 prevailed. Regarding quality: 32.5% were classified as “bad”, 25.2% as “good” and 42.3% as “acceptable”.
Conclusions: Quality of the referrals between healthcare levels can be improved and should be considered partially responsible for the delivered quality of care. Some questions were raised namely the reasons behind such a high rate of missed medical appointments.
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