[The Catalan Patient Council: the direct voice of the patient in health policies in Catalonia].

The transition from a more paternalistic model of care focused on the disease and on the medical professional's authority towards a more participatory model centered on the rights and duties of informed patients represents a significant change in public health policy. One of the most widespread methods of social participation in Catalonia today is the tendency to form associations around a particular disease. This kind of organizational participation is a pioneering tool in the debate around public health policy.

Quality indicators for patient safety in primary care. A review and Delphi-survey by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care.

Background: Quality indicators are measured aspects of healthcare, reflecting the performance of a healthcare provider or healthcare system. They have a crucial role in programmes to assess and improve healthcare. Many performance measures for primary care have been developed.

[Burnout and teamwork in primary care teams].

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of burnout and the perception of teamwork in Primary Care teams from Barcelona.

Design: Multicenter cross-sectional.

Location: Primary Health Care Teams from Barcelona.

Survival in Mediterranean ambulatory patients with chronic heart failure. A population-based study.

Introduction And Objectives: Scarce research has been performed in ambulatory patients with chronic heart failure in the Mediterranean area. Our aim was to describe survival trends in our target population and the impact of prognostic factors.

Methods: We carried out a population-based retrospective cohort study in Catalonia (north-east Spain) of 5659 ambulatory patients (60% women; mean age 77 [10] years) with incident chronic heart failure.

Prescription in patients with chronic heart failure and multimorbidity attended in primary care.

Background: Multimorbidity and polypharmacy pose challenges to improving the quality of care.

Objectives: To determine the association between prescription of recommended treatment in ambulatory patients with chronic heart failure and multiple comorbidities and hospitalisation events.

Design: A population-based retrospective cohort study in Catalonia (north-east Spain).

[Experience of the quality improvement plan for the La Mina Health Centre (1989-2004)].

Objectives: To describe how well the problems detected by a quality improvement plan (QIP) for a health care team (HCT) were solved; and to analyse the identification methods, the quality causes and dimensions affected by the problems detected, and the participation of professionals.

Design: Descriptive study. Evaluation of the situation in December 2004 of the problems identified since 1989.