[Quality of the health care to the epileptic patients in Spain].
BACKGROUND
The objective of the study was to evaluate the quality of the health care to the epileptic patient in Spain including recently diagnosed patients, controlled patients and medically refractory patients.


METHODS
Throughout years 2001-2002 a questionnaire of consensus was agreed by neurologists from surgical epilepsy units, epilepsy units, community hospitals and outpatient clinics.


RESULTS
A total of 139 questionnaires were analysed. Only one third of the hospitals had a specialized epilepsy clinic. The longest waiting lists for diagnostic procedures were video EEG and Holter EEG, with 175 and 97.6 days, respectively. Clear differences between autonomous communities as far as availability of neurologists on duty, availability of diagnostic tests and number of epilepsy units are stated, existing, in general, more resources in the autonomous communities with health transferred before 2002 and Madrid.


CONCLUSIONS
As much the lack of resources as the inequalities indicate that we are still far from the quality standards recommended by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), lacking a suitable lanning that eliminates the inequalities and it so approaches us a system of assistance integrated in different levels as it is set out by the international scientific community.
De la Peña Mayor
P
P
Unidad de EEG-Epilepsia, Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, Madrid. pilar_pena@yahoo.es
Saiz Díaz
R A
RA
Pérez-Sempere
A
A
Sancho
J
J
Cobaleda
S
S
Padró Ubeda
L
L
D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires