ASSESSMENT OF REFERRAL SYSTEM AND FATE OF PATIENTS REFERRED TO SURGICAL AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF BAHAWAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL BAHAWALPUR

Introduction: An effective referral system ensures a close relationship between all levels of the health system and helps to ensure that people receive the best possible care closest to home. In many developing countries, referral is an essential part of preventing unnecessary deaths. If practiced efficiently, it can contribute to high standards of care by improving patient outcomes and decreasing costs through optimal use of medical services. A referral decision is a clinical decision made by physicians about referral indication (whether referral is needed or not), service identification, and provider selection. The complexity of the process often causes inefficient referral decisions and referral communication, which in turn affects the quality and cost of care. Hence, it is important to improve both the decision-making as well as communication aspects of the process to enhance the overall outcome of the referral system. Study Place: Surgical and Medical Emergency Department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur. Study Design: Cross sectional Study Sample Size: At confidence level 95% anticipated population proportion of referred patient is 50% and relative precision of 10%. Sample size is 129. Conclusion: Majority of the patients were referred by private sector either clinics or hospitals. Key Words: referral system, complexity, referral indication