title: [Diabetic patients choice of endocrinologist in a county hospital. Opinion of patients without possibility of free choice].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Free choice of specialized physicians is a patients right in the Spanish Public Health Service.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  1.- In diabetic outpatients visited in a county hospital to ascertain if there s any difference about endocrinologist free choice opinion between new and long-standing follow-up groups. 2.- In the second group of patients to study wich variables are associated with the favourable free choice opinion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Transversal, personal interview based.
  
  
  METHODS
  1.- Type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients firstly (A group, n=60) or at least 4 years time of follow-up (B group, n=100) visited in an outpatient department of Endocrinology. 2.-
  
  
  METHODS
  a) Description of groups and comparative analysis of their characteristics (Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U tests). b) Objective 1: Chi-squared test comparison. c) Objective 2: Multivariate logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Objective 1: The possibility of free choice of endocrinologist is preferred by A-group patients in a statistically significant greater proportion than B-group patients. Objective 2: In the latest group subjects with higher levels of glycated haemoglobin are the more favourables to the free choice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a Spanish county hospital opinion about free choice of endocrinologist is better in an "a priori" judgement basis than after the personal experience of medical team attention. In long-standing follow-up patients only high levels of glycated haemoglobin predict the preference for the free choice.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Endocrinología, Hospital San Agustín, Avilés, Astrias, Spain. cmacb@arrikis.es
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maciá Bobes
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Botas Cervero
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronzón Fernández
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arango Fernández
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D004704:Endocrinology; D005260:Female; D006766:Hospitals, County; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction