Healthcare Utilization Pattern of Patients with Diabetes in the Selected Medical Centers of the City of Isfahan, Iran

Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in societies. Diabetes is not only considered just a disease but also is an interwoven network of environmental and genetic risk factors with different pathophysiology which is very costly. The aim of the present study is to investigate the utilization pattern of patients with diabetes in the centers of the City of Isfahan. The present study is a cross-sectional study which employs a descriptive method. In this study, the medical records of patients with diabetes referring to five diabetic care centers (a private center, a state-run center, a charity services center, a sub-specialized eye care center, and a subspecialized center for diabetic foot treatment) in the first half of 2013 were investigated. The data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel. Most of the admitted patients were referred ones and the least of them were introduced by other centers. In the second level, visits to specialists and visits to ophthalmologists had the highest frequency. In the charity center, visits to internists had the highest frequency. In the state center, visits to ophthalmologists had the highest frequency. Regarding the favorability of the degree of diabetic patient's access to services in the City of Isfahan, policy making for public screening for identifying latent cases of diabetes and including patients in treatment cyclesin order for preventing the incidence of side effects and diabetes in the members of patient's families seem necessary.