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Success Story
USAID program links
family physicians with
laboratory specialists for
better health care results
Cooperation Guarantees Better Care
Photo: AbtAssociates\ZdravPlus Project
A participant looks through the
microscope during the joint laboratory
and primary health care training course in
hematology.
Family physicians and
laboratory specialists
are working together to
diagnose health problems
more effectively and
accurately and to ensure
that patients receive the care
they need.
Saodat Romanova – a laboratory physician at House of Health
#5 in Turkmenabat, recalls how recently, her diagnostic skills
helped to reverse an erroneous and alarming diagnosis. A
six-year-old boy from Lebap Velayat, Turkmenistan, was taken
to his family physician by his parents, who were concerned
by their son’s lack of appetite and lethargic behavior. The boy
was referred to a specialist for consultation, and an oncologist
determined that the boy had leukemia. Distraught, the parents
sought a second opinion from Romanova, who was able to give
much better news.
After reevaluating the laboratory tests, Romanova determined
that the boy was indeed sick. However, his lethargy and lack
of appetite were the result of anemia, a relatively common
and easily treatable condition. Romanova credits her success
to a training course on hematology that USAID organizes for
laboratory and family physicians throughout Turkmenistan.
USAID has been working since 2002 to strengthen the capacity
of laboratory workers in Turkmenistan’s health care system.
Additionally, USAID has been strengthening the link between
laboratory and family physicians. A viable cooperation between
these two groups of health care providers helps ensure that
family physicians order the right laboratory tests, make correct
diagnoses, and prescribe the most appropriate treatment.
The USAID-supported training module emphasizes the
relationship between family physicians and laboratory
specialists, with a focus on how the two groups should work
together to ensure that appropriate blood tests are preformed
and interpreted correctly. The process promotes a better
understanding of the complementary role that doctors and
laboratory technicians play in the health care system. Because
both groups are able to put their new skills into practice in a
mutually supportive fashion, careful laboratory analysis, and
evidence-based diagnosis and treatment are now linked,
ensuring better health outcomes for all.
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