[A multicenter study on the quality of use of long-term medication card].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate and improve the use of Long-term Medication Cards (LMC) at three Primary Care Centres and to obtain information about the impact of ongoing education on quality guarantee methodology.


METHODS
A before and after study.


METHODS
The Caldes de Montbui, Rubi-1 and Concordia (Sabadell) Primary Care Centres.


METHODS
LMC samples from these three centres: 462 and 333 LMC for the first and second evaluations, respectively.


METHODS
The professionals involved were fed back the results of the evaluations carried out. Modifications in the system of control and organisation of the LMC were introduced. These included keeping the information contained on the LMC in the centres and changes in their cancellation and renewal norms.


RESULTS
The results showed intracenter increases on all except one of fifteen measurements, presenting the following extreme values in the two evaluations performed at the three centres: record on the LMC of the length of treatment (from 63 to 98%); non-inclusion of treatments with authorization of less than three months (58 to 100%); non-inclusion of authorization above a year (83 to 100%); recording of the guidelines (61 to 87%); non-inclusion of antibiotic treatments on the LMC (94 to 100%).


CONCLUSIONS
As for training, experience showed that its is feasible and profitable to follow up ongoing training, both to evaluate the impact of this training and to use the application of the quality guarantee cycle in the introduction and setting-up of internal QEI activities.
Corbella
A
A
Institut d'Estudis de la Salut, Barcelona.
Baré
M
M
Bigordà
J
J
Coma
V
V
D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors