Improving continuity between outpatient and inpatient care in the management of patients with chronic venous disease: a review

For conditions such as varicose veins of the lower extremities (I83), esophageal varices (I85), varicose veins of other localizations (I86), and hemorrhoids (K64), according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, which are united by the common problem of chronic venous outflow disorders, an asymptomatic course in the early stages is characteristic despite their specificity. As a result, patients typically seek medical care when a symptom complex has already formed, when conservative treatment methods are ineffective, and surgical intervention under planned hospitalization is required. To improve the quality and economic efficiency of medical care, the existing practice of continuity between outpatient and inpatient stages requires improvement. In peripheral vascular diseases, more precise patient routing is necessary, since patients are often hospitalized in general surgery departments rather than specialized vascular surgery departments and receive medical care not in a planned but in an emergency setting. In addition, in cases of patient self-referral to the hospital, communication between the prehospital and hospital stages needs to be improved, in particular by ensuring timely transfer of information about hospitalization to the outpatient clinic. At the posthospital stage, patients should be assigned to a specialist physician to ensure effective follow-up and prevention of disease progression.