Abstract

MACIA BOBES, C.; BOTAS CERVERO, P.; RONZON FERNANDEZ, A.  and  ARANGO FERNANDEZ, A.. Diabetic patients' choice of endocrinologist in a county hospital: Opinion of patients without possibility of free choice. An. Med. Interna (Madrid) [online]. 2005, vol.22, n.9, pp.419-423. ISSN 0212-7199.

Background: Free choice of specialized physicians is a patients´right in the Spanish Public Health Service. Objectives: 1.- In diabetic outpatients visited in a county hospital to ascertain if there´s any difference about endocrinologist free choice opinion between new and long-standing follow-up groups. 2.- In the second group of patients to study wich variables are associated with the favourable free choice opinion. Design: Transversal, personal interview based. Patients and methods: 1.- Type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients firstly (A group, n=60) or at least 4 years time of follow-up (B group, n=100) visited in an outpatient department of Endocrinology. 2.- Statistical methods: a) Description of groups and comparative analysis of their characteristics (Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U tests). b) Objective 1: Chi-squared test comparison. c) Objective 2: Multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Objective 1: The possibility of free choice of endocrinologist is preferred by A-group patients in a statistically significant greater proportion than B-group patients. Objective 2: In the latest group subjects with higher levels of glycated haemoglobin are the more favourables to the free choice. Conclusions: In a Spanish county hospital opinion about free choice of endocrinologist is better in an "a priori" judgement basis than after the personal experience of medical team attention. In long-standing follow-up patients only high levels of glycated haemoglobin predict the preference for the free choice.

Keywords : Physician´s patient free choice; Diabetic patients; Endocrinological medical team; County hospital.

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