AN ASSESSMENT OF A TWO-WAY PATIENT REFERRAL SYSTEM IN GONDAR REGION

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a study conducted to assess the adequacy of a two-way patient referral system between a teaching hospital and other health institutions in Gondar administrative unit, it was found out that out of 82 patients referred for admission, and subsequently admitted into the teaching hospital, 8 (9.8%) were referred back while the remaining 74 (90.2%) were discharged. The causes for the discrepancy between the criteria used for the selection of referral patients by the health institutions, on the one hand, and the referral and discharge of the same patients by the teaching hospital, on the other, were investigated. This paper will present the results of the investigation along with proposals for improving the criteria for the selection of referral patients.