Abstract
Traditionally, no patients have any limitation in selecting a doctor in Japan.
A new public hospital started a special outpatient service for patients referred from private clinics in the are of K-ku of Y city; this is called “the referral system”.
Medical records of referred patients as well as non-referred patients were analyzed and a questionnaire survey was conducted to the residents in the area of K-ku in order to evaluate the effects of the system.
The distribution of sex, age and disease and the rate of admission were different between referred patients and non-referred patients.
The matched-pair analysis of sex and age characteristics between referred patients and non-referred patients demonstrated that the system was effective in utilizing different functions of medical care services between hospitals and private clinics.
Residents with a regular family physician showed a positive attitude towards the new system.
Further consideration of the conditions of referral will be necessary to develop the system.
