Analysis of the demand for a home care support team (HCST)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical activity of the home care support team (HCST) over the first year of implementation in a health area. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Health Area 2 and 5 of Zaragoza (urban environment). PARTICIPANTS: All the patients (n = 151) included in the home care programme over the year 2000. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The mean age of attended patients was 77 years; sixty-three percent were woman. The most frequent medical disorders of the patients were neurologic (37.3%) and oncologic disorders (35%). The majority (88%) were referred from the primary care team (PCT). Subjects admitted from primary care of health (family physician or nurse) were 88%. The follow-up of these patients was carried out by the PCT (47.7%), mainly disabled patients, and 14% by HCST (significantly more frequent terminal ill patients). In 38.3% of the patients, follow-up was performed by both teams. Forty two percent of the patients attended died over the year 2000, 53% of them at home. CONCLUSIONS: Home care is an assistance model in progress. HCST are a resource that can become usefull in the development of the PCT work with all the hard to treat complex patients.