The Internal Medicine Out-Patient Clinic: the need to improve

Abstract

The Internal Medicine out-patient clinic is the interface between primary and secondary care in the majority of Portuguese hospitais. Apan from the responsibility of in-patient care, the Internal Medicine specialist faces many other responsibilities. If the communication lines between the Hospital and the Health Centre are not well organised, the Internal Medicine specialist will be unable to act as the main hospital representative at the community level, as the link with the patient's doctor, and as such, the Internal Medicine out-patient appointment will not be beneficial. The main problems are due to Jack of organisation and/or Jack of physical and human resources in the out-patient clinic. This work attempts to identify the essential functional requirements for quality care which should be planned according to the population it serves and should follow well-defined regulations and objectives. One of the most important roles should be the obligation to send a medical report, even if preliminary, to the patient's family doctor.