PATIENTS ASSESSMENT OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE MEASURES IN CASE OF DISEASES OF PERIPHERAL ARTERIES

Abstract

Patients with peripheral artery diseases are not given proper attention at the stage of providing primary health care. Dynamic monitoring of their condition is often initiated only after a vascular catastrophe has taken place. At the stage of preventive measures taken, when the probability of avoiding complications is maximum, many patients lack specialized care. To reveal defects in the availability and quality of medical care provided for patients with peripheral artery diseases at the outpatient stage, 540 patients with atherosclerosis of peripheral arteries in 2 multidisciplinary hospitals were interviewed in St. Petersburg in 2020. The quota samples took into account the regional gender and age composition of the patients (67 % men, 33 % women, average age 66.3 ± 4 years), included patients with a medical history of at least 5 years, which strengthened the objectivity of the results of the study. The data were statistically processed with the calculation of extensive and intensive coefficients, average values. The initial data had a standard distribution. Defects in the provision of outpatient medical care to patients were revealed: the coverage of dispensary observation is extremely low (8.9 %), half of patients who are not regularly examined by a doctor have been suffering from the disease for more than ten years, 57.1 % of respondents have never been involved in the course of preventive medical examinations. It is difficult for patients to make an appointment with a doctor (27.7 %), consulted by a particular specialist - a cardiovascular surgeon (25.5 %), have to wait a long time for medical care (16.0 %), pay monthly for medicines for treatment (92.7 %). In 33.4 % of cases, patients have certain difficulty to cope with the information provided to them by a doctor in a polyclinic. The revealed features of the actual provision of medical care to patients with peripheral artery diseases should be taken into account when adjusting and developing comprehensive programs aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of medical care, including the order of its provision to the patients of this group.