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Aim: Determine the prevalence and define the profile of interlevel incidences (ININ) between primary care (PC) and hospital (HC)., Design: Multicenter cross-sectional descriptive study. SITE: Primary care., Participants: Professionals from a Health District and its reference hospitals., Interventions: ININ are errors in communication between PC and HC professionals derived from administrative, pharmaceutical or clinical procedures not resolved during the formal interlevel communication processes, which requires a coordinated and validated response from the health care directions to not overload the family physician., Main Measurements: ININ by category, hospital services and health centers, total and validated, relative to the total number of referrals, and the reason for the ININ., Results: We detected 2011 ININs (3.36%) among the 59.859 referrals, although only 1684 were validated (83.7%). Most were administrative (59.5%), followed by pharmaceutical (24.2%), clinical (10.2%) and reverse (6.1%). 41.3% of the clinical ININs were grouped around 5 hospital specialties, and 45.9% in 5 health centers. The main reasons for clinical ININ were non-prescription of the recommended pharmacological treatment in outpatient clinics or on hospital discharge (27.3%), request for referral to another hospital specialist (27.9%), or request to referral in person to patients who had already been referred by teleconsultation (17.8%)., Conclusions: 3.36% of interlevel referrals are accompanied by incidents and 83.7% are validated and processed. It is necessary to develop ININ management tools to guarantee safe healthcare and debureaucratize PC., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Electronic prescription is the prescription system that allows healthcare professionals to send medication prescriptions directly to community pharmacies and the outpatient unit of Hospital Pharmacy Services for dispensing. However, there is difficulty in obtaining a reliable pharmacotherapeutic history in chronic patients through electronic prescription upon hospital admission as a critical point for adequate treatment adaptation. Therefore, the pharmacist as a member of the multidisciplinary team must ensure, through medication conciliation, an adequate transition of care through the correct management of the treatment that the chronic patient requires during their hospitalization., Objectives: To evaluate the quality of electronic prescription records for routine chronic treatment by analyzing the concordance of the electronic prescription., Material and Methods: Observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study at the General University Hospital of Elche. Hospitalized patients in charge of the Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, Urology and Neurosurgery Services in which the responsible doctor requested medication reconciliation by the Pharmacy Service between January 2022 - December 2022 were included., Results: 378 patients, 209 (55.3%) women and 169 (44.7%) men, with a mean age±standard deviation of 71.0±11.6 years and 69.0±11.8 years, respectively. The total percentage of patients with discrepancies in the electronic prescription with respect to the usual chronic treatment was 60.6%, reflecting that only 39.4% of the patients had non-discordant electronic prescriptions., Conclusions: More than half of hospitalized surgical patients present discrepancies in the medications prescribed in the home electronic prescription, which justifies the importance of treatment reconciliation upon admission carried out by hospital pharmacists., (Copyright © 2024 FECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyse the care continuity across levels of care perceived by patients with chronic conditions in public healthcare networks in six Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay), and to explore associated factors., Method: Cross-sectional study by means of a survey conducted to a random sample of chronic patients in primary care centres of the study networks (784 per country) using the questionnaire Cuestionario de Continuidad Asistencial Entre Niveles de Atención (CCAENA)©. Patients had at least one chronic condition and had used two levels of care in the 6 months prior to the survey for the same medical condition. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression were carried out., Results: Although there are notable differences between the networks analysed, the results show that chronic patients perceive significant discontinuities in the exchange of clinical information between primary care and secondary care doctors and in access to secondary care following a referral; as well as, to a lesser degree, regarding clinical coherence across levels. Relational continuity with primary care and secondary care doctors and information transfer are positively associated with care continuity across levels; no individual factor is systematically associated with care continuity., Conclusions: Main perceived discontinuities relate to information transfer and access to secondary care after a referral. The study indicates the importance of organisational factors to improve chronic patients' quality of care., (Copyright © 2020 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The high prevalence of obesity in our environment, a chronic disease of complex management and responsible for multiple comorbidities, requires the implementation of coordination strategies in clinical care between primary care and specialist hospital units. In a cross-sectional care model, primary care physicians guide all therapeutic management related to obesity. Together with them, specialists in endocrinology and nutrition and other health staff help to form a functional unit that focuses on obesity. The main goal of this document is to improve the coordination between care levels, to optimize resources, avoid patients' unrealistic expectations and improve patient follow-up after discharge from hospital., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyse the evolution and adequacy of referrals from Primary Care to Urology, after the implementation of referral protocols on the most frequent urological diseases and the establishment of a continuing education program., Material and Methods: A Primary Care-Urology work group was created in 2011. Initially, performance and clinical practice protocols in prostatic pathology (BPH and PSA) were established. These were supported by training sessions for primary care physicians. After analysing the effect of the mentioned joint work, 3more (scrotal pathology, urinary tract infections and urinary incontinence) were included. We analysed and compared the referrals and their adequacy before and after the establishment of the protocols., Results: The most common referral causes were symptoms of the lower urinary tract due to BPH, which initially represented 22.8% of the total, and decreased to 16.9%. After the introduction of the new algorithms, we observed a decrease in referrals for scrotal pathology (13-14% to 7.8%), an increase in urinary incontinence referrals (3% al 10.3%) and those related to urinary tract infections remained stable. The adequacy to the protocols improved progressively: LUTS from 46% to 65.3%; PSA from 55% to 84.4% and urinary incontinence from 66.2% to 73.1%. Adequacy in scrotal pathology decreased (de 67.1% a 63.3%), while in UTI it stayed much the same (around 76%)., Conclusions: The joint work between Urology and Primary Care achieves an improvement in referrals adequacy regarding the most frequent urological pathologies., (Copyright © 2019 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

From the model of Integral Primary Care and under the principle of continuity of care, the development of channels of communication and integration between the first and second level of care in relation to mental health care is proposed. It presents the pioneering experience established in the Health Service of Lanzarote in which the figure of the clinical psychologist has been moved to the Health Centres to develop a joint community program from the Primary Care. The lines of action have focused on direct work with the patient, as well as with the staff, both individually and as a group. The objective is the sensitisation and standardisation of the treatment for mental disease in Health Centres. This work has been carried out with a positive assessment by patients and staff of the centres, which at the same time has demanded greater accessibility for a full implementation of the joint work model focused on the promotion, prevention, detection, and treatment for health mental., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The purpose of this study is to find out whether telephone referral from Primary Health Care to Internal Medicine Consult manages to reduce waiting days as compared to traditional referral. This study also aims to know how acceptable is the telephone referral to general practitioners and their patients., Design: No blind randomized controlled clinical trial., Setting: Northern Huelva Health District., Participants: 154 patients., Interventions: Patients referrals from intervention clinicians were sent via telephone consultation, whereas patients referrals from control clinicians were sent by traditional via., Measurements: Number of days from referral request to Internal Medicine Consult. Number of telephone and traditional referrals. Number of doctors and patients denied. Denial reasons., Results: A statistically significant difference was found between groups, with an average of 27 (21-34) days. Among General Practitioners, 8 of the first 58 total doctors after randomization and, subsequently, 6 of the 20 doctors of the test group refused to engage in the trial because they considered "excessive time and effort consuming". 50% of patients referred by the 14 General Practitioners finally randomized to the intervention group were denied referral by telephone due to patient's complexity., Conclusions: Telephone referral significantly reduces waiting days for Internal Medicine consult. This type of referral did not mean an "excessive time and effort consuming" to General Practitioners and was not all that beneficial to complex patients., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine the perception of Primary Care (PC) physicians on the integration with cardiology (CA) through continuity of healthcare programs., Material and Methods: A cross-sectional and multicentre study was conducted, in which a total of 200 PC physicians from all over Spain completed a qualitative survey that evaluated the level of integration with CA in secondary prevention. Physicians were grouped according to the level of PC-CA integration., Results: The integration between CA and PC was good, but it was better in those centres with a higher integration (74.0% vs. 60.0%; p=.02) and in general, physicians considered that integration had improved (92.0% vs. 73.0%; p<.001). Almost all PC physicians received the hospital discharge report. The majority of the hospital discharge reports included recommendations about the CA and PC follow-up, control of risk factors, as well as the duration of secondary prevention treatment, with not significant differences according to the level of integration. In 55.8%, 63.6%, and 51.3% of hospital discharge reports, indications were given on when to perform the follow-up blood analysis, as well as information about returning to working life and sexual activity, respectively. The most common communication method was the paper-based report (75 vs. 84%; p=NS). The communication between healthcare levels was greater in those Primary Care centres with a higher level of integration, as well as periodicity of the communication and the satisfaction of physicians (80.0% vs. 63.0%; p=.005)., Conclusions: The level of integration between PC and CA is, in general, satisfactory, but those centres with a higher level of integration benefit more from a greater communication and satisfaction., (Copyright © 2018 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Attention has been focused on new ways to understand and manage urticaria ever since the recent addition of novel drugs to the therapeutic arsenal, the updating of clinical practice guidelines, and the publication of pathophysiologic insights. The Andalusian Section of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV) has developed a clinical pathway that defines quality-of-care characteristics and makes recommendations on decision-making affecting patients with urticaria. We present a patient-centered approach to care, in which the patient's clinical pathway through the health care system includes links between primary and hospital care to ensure continuity-a key feature of quality., (Copyright © 2015 AEDV. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Patient-centered healthcare is currently one of the most pursued goals in health services. It is necessary to ensure a sufficient level of cooperative and coordinated work between different providers and settings, including family and social and community resources. Clinical integration occurs when the care provided by health professionals and providers is integrated into a single coherent process through different professions using shared guidelines and protocols. Such coordination can be developed at three levels: macro, which involves the integration of one or more of the three basic elements that support health care (the health plan, primary care and specialty care), with the aim of reducing fragmentation of care; meso, where health and social services are coordinated to provide comprehensive care to elderly and chronic patients; and micro, aimed to improve coordination in individual patients and caregivers. The implementation of new roles, such as Advanced Practice Nursing, along with improvements in family physicians' problem-solving capacity in certain processes, or modifying the place of provision of certain services are key to ensure services adapted to the requirements of chronic patients., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)