Effective use of patient resources: a training guide for family physicians.
Effective use of resources available to patients in their homes, in their neighborhoods, and in their communities can give the family physician much assistance in the provision of total health care to his patients and their families. Patients' resources can be divided into two broad categories--"Personal" and "Institutional". Examples of the former are family, church, neighbors, unions, etc. Institutional resources can be public or private, and they cover a broad spectrum of services. Patients' needs for dignity and independence are best served by Personal resources. Institutional resources should be used only for those services that cannot be met any other way. Success in using any resource requires an orderly five-step process which is presented and discussed in this paper.
D003153:Community Health Services; D003154:Community Medicine; D005194:Family Practice; D005380:Financing, Government; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States; D014837:Voluntary Health Agencies