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Health systems in transition
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also sections 5.10 and 6.1). This Network combines teams providing long-term
care, social support and palliative care with its origins in communitarian
services, covering hospitals, ACES, local and district social security services,
the Solidarity Network and municipalities. This Network provides services in
the following areas:
•
Convalescence (short-term recovery): This is an independent inpatient
section, integrated within an acute hospital or other institution, if it is
associated with a hospital, to provide treatment and clinical supervision in
a continued and intensive manner and to deal with clinical care as a result
of an inpatient episode due to an acute clinical situation, reoccurrence
of or imbalance in a chronic condition. Its main function is to stabilize
patients in a functional and clinical manner, and to ensure the assessment
and integral rehabilitation of patients with a transitory loss of autonomy
that is potentially recoverable and that does not need acute hospital care.
It assures permanent medical care, permanent nursing care, radiological,
laboratory and complementary diagnosis examinations, prescription and
administration of pharmaceutical products, physiotherapy, psychosocial
support, hygiene, comfort, nutrition, socialization and leisure. The
estimated maximum duration of stay is 30 days.
•
Medium-term care and rehabilitation (see section 5.7).
•
Long-term care: This is a temporary or permanent inpatient service
with its own physical space, to provide care to people with chronic
conditions, with different levels of dependence that are not cared for
at home. It aims to provide care that will prevent and retard increasing
dependency, favouring comfort and quality of life for a period longer than
90 consecutive days. It guarantees maintenance and stimulation activities,
daily nursing care, medical care, prescription and administration of
pharmaceutical products, psychosocial support, periodic psychiatric
control, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, sociocultural animation,
hygiene, comfort, nutrition and support in activities of daily life.
•
Palliative care (see section 5.10).
•
Day care and autonomy promotion (see section 5.4.1).
In June 2006, the government defined the prices to be paid for health care
and social care provided within the pilot episodes of the newly created network
(Article No. 12 of Decree-Law No. 101/2006, of 6 June 2006). The prices were
updated by Ordinance No. 189/2008, of 19 February 2008. The costs of health
care provision are to be paid by the Ministry of Health, although the patients