THE PATIENTS OF FAMILY MEDICINE CABINETS

Abstract

A Report of the Presidential Commission for the analysis and the development of public health policies in Romaniahas been drawn up in 2008. The Report shows that the medical system is built around central administration, medical staff, and patients are deprived of the effective power to influence it, despite the fact that they provideits funds. The report recommends that the system should place the patient at the centre. Credible data should be provided, as well as accessible information on the health services in the community, activities to improve the health status of inhabitants, and significant changes in the behaviour of patients. If establishing public health priorities and plans regarding public health are drawn up with the participation of patients, it is pertinent therefore to confer with them through surveys and analyze shared values.The participation of patients is not a universal panacea, but it can be a moral debt, when the community can benefit from such participation. Some of them are expert patients whereas others consider the disease a divine punishment…Based on the field research, we can identify the attitudes, values, and beliefs regarding habits and behaviours. Here we can find out the extent to which the consultation of patients is a necessary (and sufficient?) condition to make the appropriate decisions for improving the situation in the field of health care. Health sociologists can identify types of doctor - patient relationships, doctor’s and patient's behaviour, logics and practices, expectations towards the doctor, expectations towards the patient. In this article, the author presents the results of a research on patients' satisfaction, based on the questioning of 496 patients from 180 cabinets of family doctors in a big city.