Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Clinic of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Diseases of Metabolism, University Clinical Centre, Dr Subotića starijeg 13, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
J Endocrinol Invest. 2022 Aug;45(8):1521-1526. doi: 10.1007/s40618-022-01787-6. Epub 2022 Mar 24.
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of repurposing health care facilities in response to COVID-19 on the access of patients with thyroid disease to health care.
This study consisted of a web-based survey. The survey was anonymous and consisted of forty questions.
This survey included 206 respondents. 91.3% of the respondents had health insurance through the Republic Fund of Health Insurance, 9.7% had private or both health insurances, and 3.4% did not have any health insurance. A significant proportion of respondents (60.4%) had to switch from public to private health care to reach a physician and 73.8% had to switch from public to private laboratories. For the 91.9%, this was perceived as a financial burden. Before the pandemic, 83.1% of respondents reported regular follow-up by physicians, which decreased to 44.9% during the pandemic (p < 0.01). 76.3% of the respondents regarded that their thyroid disease was managed optimally before the pandemic, while this figure declined to only 48% during the pandemic (p < 0.01).
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the medical care of thyroid patients in Serbia. For the patients treated in the public health care system, access to general practice was hindered, while access to specialist care was disrupted. It led to a switch from public to private health care, which was perceived as a financial burden for almost all the respondents. However, private health care proved to be an important safety net when the public system was overwhelmed.
本研究旨在评估应对 COVID-19 而重新利用医疗保健设施对甲状腺疾病患者获得医疗保健的影响。
本研究包括一项基于网络的调查。该调查是匿名的，共包含四十个问题。
该调查共包括 206 名受访者。91.3%的受访者通过共和国健康保险基金拥有健康保险，9.7%的受访者拥有私人或两者兼有健康保险，3.4%的受访者没有任何健康保险。相当一部分受访者（60.4%）不得不从公共医疗保健转向私人医疗保健以寻求医生的治疗，73.8%的受访者不得不从公共实验室转向私人实验室。对于 91.9%的人来说，这被认为是一种经济负担。在大流行之前，83.1%的受访者报告说他们定期接受医生的随访，而在大流行期间这一比例下降到 44.9%（p<0.01）。76.3%的受访者认为他们在大流行前甲状腺疾病得到了最佳管理，而这一数字在大流行期间下降到仅 48%（p<0.01）。
COVID-19 大流行扰乱了塞尔维亚甲状腺疾病患者的医疗护理。对于在公共医疗保健系统中接受治疗的患者，普通科医疗的获得受到阻碍，而专科医疗的获得则受到干扰。这导致从公共医疗保健转向私人医疗保健，几乎所有受访者都认为这是一种经济负担。然而，当公共系统不堪重负时，私人医疗保健证明是一个重要的安全网。
