Home care is one of the axes of the assistance plan of the Community of Madrid. Among the resources already provided, the regional government reinforces its services to provide home respiratory therapies with oxygen cylinders, aerosols and nebulizers. In the last year, the demand for this type of treatments has increased by 21%. The increase in service allowed to reduce the number of hospitalizations of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The Governing Council approved allocating 128.1 million euros for the bidding of the new five-year contract, which will allow the acquisition of the necessary resources for home respiratory therapies. “This initiative represents a significant improvement in their quality of life and reduces, at the same time, the number of hospitalizations” and travel, the Ministry of Health details. The devices are intended for patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sleep apnea and other lung pathologies that can be treated at home.
With the funds, oxygen therapy, aerosols and nebulizers, and other assisted ventilation techniques can be purchased. In 2023, this service was provided to 54,070 people, which represents 21% more compared to 2022. The increase in demand, as detailed by the Ministry, had an impact on the decrease in visits to the emergency room related to respiratory pathologies. This type of respiratory therapies are prescribed by doctors, who decide the ideal treatment for each patient. To do this, “the oxygen administration parameters are set individually, in addition to the duration of the procedure,” they specify.
The home care model is one of the services that the regional government is promoting, with other therapies such as oncology or hospitalization at home. With this, the Ministry aims to prevent patients from having to travel to hospital centers and, in turn, relieve the pressure on care in the centers. So, will be enhanced hospitalization in residences and that hospital health personnel carry out the visits. Blood tests, ultrasounds or cultures will be some of the tests that will be carried out in the residences themselves, just as they would be done in the ward, with daily monitoring, as detailed in the presentation. At the moment this model is only applied at the Puerta de Hierro Hospital, in Majadahonda, but the Ministry’s idea is to apply it throughout the healthcare network.
On the other hand, the possibility of administer oncological treatments at home. The service began to be carried out at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital for blood cancer patients (oncohematological), but the Community of Madrid has extended it to other types of tumors and it has been expanded to all hospitals. For now, it is limited to immunotherapy, although it is being studied how to include other types of treatments such as chemo.
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