[Intermediate hospital care for subacute elderly patients as an alternative to prolonged acute hospitalization].

Objective: We evaluated the rapid discharge of older patients with reactivated chronic diseases from an acute general hospital to an intermediate care hospital.

Methods: A cohort study was carried out. Compliance with predefined quality standards and patient selection were evaluated.

[Integrated health care organizations: guideline for analysis].

There has been a tendency recently to abandon competition and to introduce policies that promote collaboration between health providers as a means of improving the efficiency of the system and the continuity of care. A number of countries, most notably the United States, have experienced the integration of health care providers to cover the continuum of care of a defined population. Catalonia has witnessed the steady emergence of increasing numbers of integrated health organisations (IHO) but, unlike the United States, studies on health providers' integration are scarce.