Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in Portugal: Is there room for improvement?

Abstract

Introduction: The healthcare systems worldwide face a challenge posed by the increasing life expectancy, the growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases and the resulting increased demand for resources(1). The integration of care, with the purpose of increasing quality and access (among others) has been widely discussed as a possible solution in this context(1). The Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) have proven to be a valid indicator of both Primary Care access and quality(2). In Portugal there is no framework on ACSC or any knowledge of the magnitude of these admissions(3). Objectives Determine and characterize the ACSC admissions in Portugal. Characterize the historic evolution of the rate of admissions for ACSC. Evaluate the impact of the utilization of different lists of ACSC. Methods: The authors undertook an observational, descriptive and analytic study which analyzed data from 4.754.560 hospital admissions of mainland Portuguese residents. The data was sourced fr)