New article from the Equity-LA II study on the use of clinical coordination mechanisms in six Latin American countries

2019-04-15

The scientific journal Gaceta Sanitaria has published the article Knowledge and Use of Clinical Coordination Mechanisms of Latin American Health Services, which presents results from the baseline of the Equity-LA II project. The article analyzes the level of knowledge and use, and the characteristics of the use of clinical coordination mechanisms between levels of care in health service networks in the six participating Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay. The results show, on the one hand, a high level of knowledge of formal communication mechanisms (consultation sheet, discharge report) and informal communication mechanisms (telephone and institutional e-mail), but there are wide differences between primary and specialized care and between countries in their use. On the other hand, clinical management coordination mechanisms (shared clinical practice guidelines, joint meetings) are generally less well known and rarely used. Difficulties were also identified in the use of the mechanisms, related to factors specific to professionals, and to organisational and contextual factors.

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