First Level Healthcare Providers not Preferred? Reasons for Preferring the Third Level

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the reasons why patients prefer tertiary pediatric outpatient clinics instead of primary healthcare services.
METHODS: The research was conducted with patients who visited the pediatric outpatient clinic at Kafkas University Faculty of Medicine Hospital in 2023. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with patient relatives.
RESULTS: A total of 378 patients were included in the study. When the reasons for referral to tertiary healthcare services were analyzed, 168 (44.4%) were patient-related, 97 (25.7%) were physician-related and 113 (29.9%) were health system-related. The family doctor being considered insufficient was the most common with 71 (42.3%) patient-related reasons. Among physician-related reasons, a Family doctor’s referral to a pediatric specialist was 97 (25.7%). Moreover, distance from the family doctor with 63 (55.8%) of the reasons related to the health system.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The study revealed that none of the cases required tertiary-level intervention, indicating that the present system encourages unnecessary specialist visits and diagnostic testing.