Table 1
Types of continuity of care and related questions of the physicians’ survey.
| TYPES/CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTINUITY | RELATED QUESTIONS | WHOM ARE ADDRESSED |
|---|---|---|
| Informational continuity | ||
| 1. Access to comprehensive electronic medical records | Do you have an access to electronic medical records made in your region? | All physicians questioned |
| 2. Primary care physicians’ awareness of hospital admissions and emergency visits of their enrolled population. | How often does your polyclinic receive information about hospital admissions of patients enrolled with it? | Polyclinic physicians |
| How often does your polyclinic receive information about emergency visits of patients enrolled with it? | Polyclinic physicians | |
| 3. Frequency of clinical information exchange between professionals | Do you contact district physicians and other outpatient physicians when a patient is admitted and in the process of inpatient care? | Hospital physicians |
| Do you contact hospital doctors about clarifications of post-discharge treatment? | Polyclinic physicians | |
| How often do hospital doctors consult polyclinic physicians on managing patients after hospital admission? | Polyclinic physicians | |
| 4. Frequency of specialists’ feedback to referring GPs | How often do you receive a feedback from rehabilitative facilities about the results of care of the patients whom you referred? | Polyclinic physicians |
| Longitudinal continuity | ||
| 1. Use of unobstructed patients’ management technologies | Does your polyclinic practice home visits to patients with stroke and heart attack the first days after their hospital discharge? | Polyclinic physicians |
| 2. Frequency of hospital re-admissions | How often are patients re-admitted due to inappropriate management by polyclinics physicians? | Hospital physicians |
| 3. Regular information exchange and clinical links between providers | How often are patients of your hospital transferred to rehabilitative inpatient care entities for the continuation of inpatient care (when it is necessary for a patient)? | Hospital physicians |
| How often are patients of your hospital transferred to long-term social care entities (when it is necessary for a patient)? | Hospital physicians | |
| What is your estimate of the share of hospital beds occupied by patients who need a transfer to the rehabilitative and social entities? | Hospital physicians | |
| What is your estimate of the degree of continuity of care provided in hospitals and polyclinics? | All physicians questioned | |
| Interpersonal continuity | ||
| 1. Comprehensiveness of care provided by GPs. | What is your estimate of the share of primary visits to district physicians that are finished with the referral to outpatient specialists? | Polyclinic physicians |
| 2. Availability of well-structured chronic disease management activities. | Is constant chronic patients’ management practiced in your polyclinic? | Polyclinic physicians |
| 3. Frequency of PHC physicians’ initiatives to involve social workers to the management of patients | Do you approach social care providers with the request to help your patients? | Polyclinic physicians |
Figure 1
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “Do you have an access to electronic medical records of patients (tests, consultations, admissions, visits, clinical data), if they were made in your region” in 2020, %.
Figure 2
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “How often does your polyclinic receive information about hospital admissions of patients enrolled with it” in 2020, %.
Figure 3
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “How often does your polyclinic receive information about emergency visits of patients enrolled with it?” in 2020, %.
Figure 4
Distribution of hospital physicians’ responses to the question “Do you contact polyclinics physicians when their patients are admitted and treated in a hospital?” in 2020, %.
Figure 5
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “Do you contact hospital physicians about clarifications of post-discharge treatment?” in 2020, %.
Figure 6
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “How often do you receive information about results of care in the spa of patients whom you referred?” in 2020, %.
Figure 7
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “Does your polyclinic practice home visits to patients with stroke and heart attack the first days after their hospital discharge?” in 2020, %.
Figure 8
Distribution of hospital physicians’ responses to the question “How often are your patients resubmitted due to inappropriate management by polyclinics physicians?” in 2020, %.
Figure 9
Distribution of hospital physicians’ responses to the question “How often are patients of your hospital transferred to rehabilitative inpatient care entities or units for the continuation of inpatient care (when it is necessary for a patient)?” in 2020, %.
Figure 10
Distribution of hospital physicians’ responses to the question “How often are patients of your hospital transferred to social care entities or units for the continuation of inpatient care (when it is necessary for a patient)?” in 2020, %.
Figure 11
Distribution of hospital physicians’ responses to the question “What is your estimate of the share of hospital beds occupied by patients who need a transfer to the rehabilitative and social entities?” in 2020, %.
Figure 12
Distribution of all physicians’ responses to the question “What is your estimate of the degree of continuity of care provided in hospitals and polyclinics?” in 2020, %.
Figure 13
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “What is your estimate of the share of primary visits to district physicians is finished with the referral to outpatient specialists?” in 2020, %.
Figure 14
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “Are there any schools of patients in your polyclinic?” in 2020, %.
Figure 15
Distribution of polyclinics physicians’ responses to the question “Do you approach social care providers with the request to help your patients?” in 2020, %.