a qualitative evaluation
Baylor Foundation initiated and carried out a qualitative study regarding hepatitis C, entitled “Hepatitis C: Perspectives on Chronic Care in Constanta, Romania”. The assessment looked into the current level of development of the healthcare system components available to patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C in a region of Romania, Constanta County, in view of the fact that the public healthcare system’s activity is supplemented by the foundation’s programs and the services Baylor provides.
The results of the study indicate that the system does have a certain capacity on a local level, especially regarding the organization of healthcare services and the ways they are provided, but there is an urgent need to develop services aimed more at chronic patients. The problems are mostly the fragmentation of medical care between different institutions, the absence of work procedures which require making decisions in agreement with the patient and of work systems based on planned visits.
56 study participants: hepatitis C patients, general practitioners, policy makers, patient organizations
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