Overuse of Health Care in the Emergency Services in Chile

Ximena Alvial, Alejandra Rojas, Raúl Carrasco, Claudia Durán and Christian Fernández-Campusano
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Ximena Alvial: Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170124, Chile
Alejandra Rojas: Escuela de Obstetricia y Puericultura, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170022, Chile
Raúl Carrasco: Facultad de Ingeniería, Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile
Claudia Durán: Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad Tecnologica Metropolitana, Santiago 7800002, Chile
Christian Fernández-Campusano: Departamento de Ingenierías Multidisciplinares, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170022, Chile

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: The Public Health Service in Chile consists of different levels of complexity and coverage depending on the severity and degree of specialization of the pathology to be treated. From primary to tertiary care, tertiary care is highly complex and has low coverage. This work focuses on an analysis of the public health system with emphasis on the healthcare network and tertiary care, whose objectives are designed to respond to the needs of each patient. A review of the literature and a field study of the problem of studying the perception of internal and external users is presented. This study intends to be a contribution in the detection of opportunities for the relevant actors and the processes involved through the performance of Triage. The main causes and limitations of the excessive use of emergency services in Chile are analyzed and concrete proposals are generated aiming to benefit clinical care in emergency services. Finally, improvements related to management are proposed and the main aspects are determined to improve decision-making in hospitals, which could be a contribution to public health policies.

Keywords: Chilean health system; emergency service; triage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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