Anemia is one of the most common conditions in primary health care (PHC) and has a negative impact on quality of life, patient performance, and the course of concomitant chronic diseases. Timely diagnosis and treatment of anemia can help to reduce the risk of complications of the underlying disease and improve outcomes.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the trends of the effectiveness of the therapy of iron deficiency anemia according to the medical care encounter after the short-term thematic training of primary care physicians following the current clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency anemia.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study included 500 patients (83 males and 417 females) aged 18 to 80 years, followed up by general practitioners (GPs), with hemoglobin levels below 13 g/dL in men and below 12 g/dL in females. Short-term advanced training of primary care physicians with the current clinical guidelines for iron deficiency anemia diagnosis and treatment was performed. Patient education has been organized to raise awareness of the importance of compliance with iron supplements and the ineffectiveness of compensating for iron deficiency through diet alone. After the training, the physicians adjusted the therapy in patients with iron deficiency anemia. During the calendar year after the corrected course of treatment for iron deficiency anemia, the key medical and economic characteristics of the study patients were entered into the register managed by the «System for monitoring patients with anemia» computer software developed by us. We analyzed the trends of the medical care encounter — calls for emergency medical services (EMS) and/or outpatient visits to general practitioners, the number of hospitalizations per year for exacerbations of the underlying disease.
RESULTS
After the correction of iron deficiency anemia treatment, the rate of outpatient visits to GPs, the rate of EMS calls, and the number of hospitalizations for exacerbations of the underlying disease during the year were statistically significantly reduced (p from <0.001 to <0.01) in almost all studied ICD-10 classes.
CONCLUSION
Timely diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency anemia in primary healthcare settings can reduce the need for outpatient, emergency, and inpatient medical care for the underlying chronic disease.
