Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Health Care in Greece

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease that causes limitation in lung airflow that is not fully reversible. As it is a major, global public, health problem the implementation of health policies related to the prevention, early diagnosis and intervention, through the continuing education of doctors in primary health care (PHC), with the cooperation of the health system, could be a good method of managing this problem. For such initiatives to be taken in Greece it is necessary to take into account the special features of the local health care system. These are related to both geographical parameters and intrinsic weaknesses in the system itself, which raise obstacles to the provision of the necessary high quality health services within primary health care. It should be feasible, however, to detect training needs and to achieve measurable results in the investigation and treatment of COPD in general practice. There is evidence that the organization of intensive educational programmes for primary care physicians serving in remote rural areas is not complicated or lacking in effectiveness in improving the knowledge of trainees. Documentation on whether this learning experience can be translated into services that improve the quality of life of patients with COPD is scarcer and inconclusive. Incentives are needed for participation in research aimed at acquiring more accurate information in order to achieve improvement in the knowledge about COPD of doctors in primary care and subsequently in the quality of life of their patients. This could be a priority of a health care system that promotes investigation aiming for high quality health care services.

Category: Volume 53, N 3
Hits: 470 Hits
Created Date: 15-09-2014
Authors: Nicolaos Kakoliris