[Perception, attitudes and needs of Primary Care professionals as regards the patient with dementia]. / Percepción, actitudes y necesidades de los profesionales de atención primaria con relación al paciente con demencia.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the perception, attitudes and needs expressed by primary care professionals in the Girona (Spain) health area as regards the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with cognitive disorders. DESIGN: Cross sectional study conducted in 26 primary healthcare areas (ABS) in Girona. SETTING: Primary healthcare areas (ABS) in Girona. PARTICIPANTS: Physicians and primary nursing care (PNC). MAIN MEASURAMENTS: Self-administered questionnaire by the professionals in the centres. In the context of regular meetings of the teams. RESULTS: A total 218 practitioners from 19 ABS (73% of total) responded to the questionnaire (108 physicians and 110 primary nursing care-PNC-). Almost all (98.6%) of participants thought they needed training in dementia, but 49.1% of physicians and 74.5% of PNC mentioned never having any specific training or not in the last 5 years. A total of 88.7% of doctors do not make a diagnosis of dementia on a regular basis, and only in 25.5% of cases do they make one in the mild stages of dementia. The main barriers reported by physicians in the diagnosis of dementia were the lack of confidence in diagnosis (32.6%) and lack of consultation time (31.4%). The great majority (87%) of physicians mentioned difficulties in monitoring and control of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides useful information for those involved in the care of dementia. It identifies priority training issues, and barriers and difficulties in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of these patients in the field of primary care.

The Catalonia World Health Organization demonstration project for palliative care implementation: quantitative and qualitative results at 20 years.

Catalonia (Spain) has a total population of 7.3 million citizens for whom the National Health Service (NHS) provides health care that is free at the point of access. The prevalence of terminally ill patients is between 30,100 and 39,600. Twenty years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Catalan Department of Health and the Catalan Institute of Oncology, began a demonstration project (WHO Demonstration Project) in palliative care (PC) with the aim of implementing specialist PC services, generating experience in this field, identifying areas for improvement, and introducing educative procedures (clinical and nonclinical). Over the past 20 years, 237 PC clinical services (72 home care support teams, 49 hospital support teams, 60 units with 742 dedicated beds, 50 outpatient clinics, and six psychosocial support teams) have been implemented. In the five years since the previous evaluation, 57 new clinical services (15 new hospital support teams, 36 outpatient clinics, and six psychosocial support teams among others) and four nonclinical services (education, research, WHO Collaborating Center, and planning) have been implemented. During the year 2010, a total of 46,200 processes were undertaken for the care of 23,100 patients, of whom 12,100 (52%) had cancer and 11,000 (48%) had other chronic advanced diseases. The overall yearly costs are around €52,568,000, with an overall savings of €69,300,000 (€2275 per patient, net savings to the NHS of €16,732,000). In the last five years, three qualitative evaluations and a benchmarking process have been performed to identify weak points and inequities in care provision among districts. Systematic assessments indicate high cost-effectiveness of care as well as high levels of satisfaction by patients and their relatives, thus reinforcing the principle that access to PC under the auspices of the NHS at the end of life is a basic human right.

Quality improvement in palliative care services and networks: preliminary results of a benchmarking process in Catalonia, Spain.

BACKGROUND: A wide range of palliative care services has been implemented in Catalonia over the past 20 years. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the organization of palliative care services between districts and settings can result in wide variability in the quality of these services, and their accessibility. METHODS: We implemented a benchmark methodology to compare dimensions of care and organization, to identify aspects requiring improvement, and to establish indicators to measure progress. The overall aim was to generate a consensus document for submission to the Department of Health (DoH) of the Government of Catalonia. RESULTS: A Steering Committee convoked a meeting in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) and representatives (n = 114) of all the 37 districts within our health care remit (rural, urban, intermediate, and metropolitan) and settings of the health care system (hospitals, social health centers, community, and nursing homes) attended and took part in plenary sessions and workshops to define areas that, in their experience, were considered weak. Twenty-one consensus recommendations achieving high levels of consensus were generated for submission to the DoH. These included the formal definition of the model of care and organization of palliative care services at all levels in the region, the implementation of measures for improvement in different settings and scenarios, systems for continuous care, and facilities for the continuing training of health care personnel. These proposals have since been implemented in a trial region and, depending on the outcomes, will be applied throughout our health service. CONCLUSION: We conclude that benchmark methodology is valuable in acquiring data for use in improving palliative care organization for patients' benefit.

[Strongyloides stercolaris in a Patient With Rheumatoid Arthritis Undergoing Treatment With Etanercept]. / Strongyloides stercolaris en un paciente con artritis reumatoide en tratamiento con etanercept.

Biologic therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis leads to a series of secondary effects and complications which are ever more frequent and increasingly complicate both the management as well as the associated comorbidity. We present the case of a patient who had one of theses associated complications.