Drinking problems load health centre hospitals in Finland

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
• Main Authors: Vehviläinen, Arto T., Kumpusalo, Esko A., Takala, Jorma K.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1999
• Subjects: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; General Medicine; Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14034948990270020201; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14034948990270020201

This study examined the reasons for referral of patients from general practice to health centre hospitals in central and northern Finland during one week in 1994. Participants were 806 general practitioners (GPs) from public health centres. Outcome measures were reasons for referral by ICPC codes, with respect to characteristics of patients, GPs, and practices. A total of 723 patients (1.4%) were referred from 53,633 consultations. Most referrals (532, 74%) were from out of hours consultations. The most commonly reported reasons for referral in the age group under 65 years were alcohol abuse for males and vertigo for females. For patients aged 65 or over, angina pectoris was the most common reason for referral for both male and female patients. Our results will be useful in developing primary healthcare and the training of GPs. Future research should focus on alcohol-related diseases in those patients referred to health centre hospitals.