Health Systems in Transition

Health systems in transition

Portugal

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pressure ulcer risk evaluations and recordings;

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falls risk evaluations;

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health care associated infections;

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pain evaluations;

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discharge abstracts;

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diabetes assessments;

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adverse drug reaction notifications;

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reports on acute exacerbations.

There are also some mandatory minimum data sets:

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For hospital discharge teams and primary care referral teams: medical,

nursing and social evaluations; evaluations of physical autonomy; the

existence of pressure ulcers; pain assessments.

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For integrated home care teams, and for inpatient facilities: medical,

nursing and social evaluations, evaluations of physical autonomy,

pressure ulcers and pain assessments upon admission, during care and

on discharge. In addition: recording of falls, diabetes, pressure ulcers risk,

and an intervention plan tailored for the patient.

Nonetheless, not all of Portugal’s abundant data can be linked together or

accessed from all health care services, and hence, in practice, patients cannot

easily be followed across care settings. For example, GPs in primary care

settings cannot access all information on their patient’s hospitalizations through

their systems, because hospitals and primary care settings have different

data modules.

The primary care information system is called

SClinico

, and covers most

facilities. Information available includes demographic data (name, gender, date

of birth, etc.) and clinical data (health problems, allergies, personal and family

history, medical history, medication and prescriptions, appointments, referrals)

(OECD, 2015a). All health care providers working in primary care have access

to this information, and home-based care can be added to the platform. GPs

can also use the PDS platform through which they can access hospital data on

their patients.

The information infrastructure in hospitals is also extensive and facilitates

high-level planning and quality monitoring for all NHS hospitals in Portugal.

The information infrastructure is nationally standardized across certain aspects