Evaluation of the quality of referrals from primary care to the memory consultation of Hospital de Braga: a descriptive study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v34i1.12358Keywords:
Memory, Dementia, Primary health care, Early diagnosis.Abstract
Objectives: To characterise the referrals from primary care to the memory, including the reasons for referral, the diagnostic study performed in primary care, and the time elapsed until the hospital consultation. Type of study: Observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study. Setting: Hospital de Braga. Participants: Patients referred by primary care to the memory consultation of Hospital de Braga, with first consultation taking place between May 2011 and December 2015. Methods: The study was carried out between February and June 2016. Informatic referrals of selected patients were retrieved. The variables analysed included gender, age, occupation, educational level, marital status, previous risk factors, reasons for referral, presence of cognitive impairment, previous diagnostic study, and time elapsed until referral and hospital consultation. Results: We identified 290 referrals, mostly concerning female patients (69%), mean age of 75 years (69%), pensioners (81%) and with less than 4 years of schooling (51%). Fifty eight percent of the cases were referred by loss of memory. Sixty eight percent of the referrals had a personal history of risk, 10% has a family history of dementia, 17% had a brief assessment of mental status, 51% had a previous computed tomography scan, and 32% had previous analytic investigation. In 55% of the cases, the referral took more than 24 months and the waiting time until hospital consultation took between 7-12 months. The main reason for referral is in agreement with other studies. The referrals were incomplete regarding previous risk factors, cognitive screening and previous diagnostic investigation. Both referrals and hospital responses still take place late. Conclusions: This study revealed information gaps in referrals that should be improved in order to optimise the transition between different levels of care. These results suggest that there may be limitations in approaching these patients in primary care.Downloads
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