Access of WetAMD and DME patients to treatment in public hospitals

• Author(s): Pereira, José
• Date: 2013
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/17428
• Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
• Subject(s): Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais
• Document Type: Master thesis
• Language: English
• Advisor(s): Moedas, Celine Abecassis
• Contributor(s): RUN

Description

Degeneration (WetAMD) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) patients’ access to treatment in public hospitals, by identifying bottlenecks and stress points that prevent timely and adequate care to patients who suffer from a degenerative disease, and consequently for whom the lack of access to treatment can have disastrous consequences. Considering the specificity and degenerative traits of these conditions, the long queues for specialty appointments in public hospitals are a significant threat to patients’ health, as the disease may be misdiagnosed and or progress significantly, causing unnecessary permanent and non-reversible loss in visual acuity. Therefore optimizing the patient journey will increase patients’ access to adequate treatment, and prevent avoidable progress of a degenerative condition which causes permanent and non-reversible blindness. Following the investigation which supports this thesis, the patient journey was broken down into its different phases, so that key issues could be identified, and referred back to the main stress points highlighted during the interviews with physicians and administrators. Finally results were scrutinized and systematized, and a set of action points was proposed, considering what may cause major impact and is actually feasible to implement.