On May 30, at Caucasus University, the research results of the winning project from the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia's "Competition for Funding of Master's Educational and Research Projects with a Grant" were presented. The project is titled "Challenges of the primary health care system in timely treatment and hospitalization of patients with acute myocardial infarction in Georgia".
The research project was presented by Lika Arakishvili, Master of Public Health Care, and Tengiz Verulava, Professor at Caucasus University, Director of the Health Care Policy Institute.
The aim of the research project was to investigate the challenges of Georgia's primary health care system in ensuring timely treatment for patients with acute myocardial infarction during the pre-hospital stage and, if necessary, their hospitalization.
The family physician plays a major role in the management and emergency referral of patients with angina pectoris. Research has shown that patients contact emergency medical care directly without contacting their family physician. During illness, only 11% of patients consulted a family doctor, which shows that primary health care in Georgia is not developed at an appropriate level. 95.8% of patients who went directly to emergency medical services at the onset of symptoms took less than 2 hours to receive emergency medical services. However, patients who contacted their family physician before hospitalization had a relatively shorter delay time and therefore referred to an emergency medical service earlier, up to 6 hours earlier, than patients who self-medicated. This is because family doctors properly perceive the symptoms and try to refer patients to the emergency medical service in time if necessary. In contrast to this, during self-medication, which also has a large share in our study (n=98, 22.5%), the delay time for emergency medical assistance is relatively high (n=90, 66.7%). It is recommended to carry out public health campaigns that will help patients with chest pain to contact the emergency medical service immediately. If the discomfort is minor, it is more appropriate to consult a family doctor.
The work was published in the international refereed journal "Health Care Policy, Economics and Sociology".
