Social and Medical Yield and Consequences of Ultrasonography in Primary Health Care
Objective: We tried to probe different aspects of ultrasound use in primary care team, to evaluate possibilities of the use of certain ultrasound methods in diagnostic procedure in the first examination and on the primary care level, to evaluate indications for specific ultrasound diagnostic and therapeutic procedures on the secondary and tertiary levels and we conducted an analysis of cost and cost effectiveness. Methods: This study was conducted in primary care clinic over period of six months. The clinic is based in Gracanica, an urban area of some 10,000 inhabitants. The control group is represented by a clinic in a town of similar demographic characteristics (11,000 inhabitants) - Primary Care clinic Doboj East in Klokotnica. This clinic does not have a direct access to an ultrasound thus all patients from this clinic are referred to secondary care unit. The results are written in a separate questionnaire. Conclusion: The results from the experimental primary care clinic with a direct access to an ultrasound have showed that the use of ultrasound on this level is of special social and medical importance: it shortens time for establishing the final diagnosis, makes use of expensive X-ray and other expensive test unnecessary and can be used to give an early diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors. The results have showed, trough the frequency of use, that the most efficient use would be if one ultrasound is available per five primary care clinics.