Patient Profile and Cost Savings of Long-Term Care in a Spanish Hospital: Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Long-term care hospitals have been considered an efficient response to the health care needs of an increasingly aging population. These centers are expected to contribute to better hospital bed management and more personalized care for patients needing continuous care. The evaluation of their outcomes is necessary after a sufficient period to assess their impact.

Clinical inertia in diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in primary care: quantification and associated factors.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to quantify both diagnostic and therapeutic inertia in hypertension and to identify patient-associated variables.

Patients And Methods: Cross-sectional, multicenter study of 35 424 subjects carried out in 428 health centers and/or primary care clinics in the Valencian Community, Spain, in a preventive activity conducted during 2003 and 2004. Diagnostic inertia was identified when a patient without known hypertension had high blood pressure (BP) but was labeled "normal" by the medical staff, and therapeutic inertia when treatment was not modified for a hypertensive patient on the presence of high BP values.

Determinant factors of osteoporosis patients' reported therapeutic adherence to calcium and/or vitamin D supplements: a cross-sectional, observational study of postmenopausal women.

Background: Among the various treatments for osteoporosis, calcium and/or vitamin D supplements are frequently included.

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyse adherence to calcium and/or vitamin D treatment and to identify related predictors of non-adherence in a sample of postmenopausal women treated for osteoporosis in primary care.

Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in a sample of postmenopausal women receiving pharmaceutical treatment for osteoporosis with vitamin D and/or calcium.