title: Patients' attitude towards health care at a teaching hospital in India.
abstract: Using a questionnaire, 362 patients attending the outpatients services of Internal Medicine of Nehru Hospital attached to our institution were randomly interviewed. Seventy per cent of the patients were in the 21-50 years age range; 50% came from rural and 50% from urban areas. Forty per cent travelled more than 30 Km; 72% used a public transport to reach hospital. Most patients had an income less than Rs. 1000/-. Ninety per cent had already consulted another medical practitioner earlier. The largest number of complaints related to the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. On an average 1-2 drugs were prescribed per patient; only 13% of these were available at the hospital dispensary. Most patients were willing to purchase the prescribed drugs from the market.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Uppal
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malhi
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Deodhar
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors