Abstract
Objective: For patients with HIV/AIDS who visited the Kinki district coremodel hospital for AIDS treatment (Osaka National Hospital (ONH), located in Osaka Prefecture), the place of residence, the medical institutions they were referred to for treatment and change of the hospital were investigated.
Materialand Methods: All HIV/AIDS patients who first visited ONH between 1998 and2003 (N=420) were examined for their place of residence and information on the medical institutions they were referred to for treatment before and after leaving ONH. By place of residence, we counted the subjects with or without referral fortreatment at ONH, thel ocation of medical institutions which made referral, whether they changed hospitals or not after treatment at ONH by the end of 2004, andso on. The places of residence were classified into Osaka, Kinki block (except Osaka) and other locations.
Results: Seventy per cent of subjects resided in Osaka, 25% in Kinki (except Osaka) and 5% in other locations. Subjects who were referred to ONH by a doctor of some other medical institution accounted for 96%. Among subjects with a referral, 28% were referred by other model hospitals and 53% by other hospitals. Among all subjects, 13% changed hospitals, 77% were under treatment at ONH and 5% were dead. Many of the subjects who lived in Kinki (except Osaka) were referred by other model hospitals before visiting ONH and continued treatment in a hospital in the prefecture in which they resided after leaving ONH.
Conclusion: The HIV/AIDS patients residing with entire Kinki block came to the Kinki district core model hospital for AIDS treatment. Many cases were referred to the Kinki core model hospital by other model hospitals, and continued their treatment in the hospitals of the prefecture they resided.
