The Dehospitalization of the Elderly:

Home Care Program (PAD) of Fortaleza General Hospital

Abstract

The aging of the population and the life span growth bring social and economic consequences. The prevalence of non transmittable chronic diseases is very expressive among the elder and has as consequences, a longer hospital stay, a slower recovery; a higher readmission frequency and disablement; therefore determining, higher costs in health treatments for this population segment. This study addresses the deinstitutionalization of the elder with non transmittable chronic diseases, treated in a hospital that possesses an unity of Home Care Program (HCP). The goal of this study is to understand how the Home Care Program developed at Fortaleza General Hospital contributes to the Public Health Policies aimed towards the deinstitutionalization of the elder. The methodology used is documental research with the assessment of management reports between the years of 2011 and 2012, related to elder patients with non transmittable chronic disease admitted at Fortaleza General Hospital. The data was processed and assessed in a statistic based software and the results were discussed according to the references used. The main conclusion reached was that the Home Care Program is important for the deinstitutionalization of the elder with non transmittable chronic disease, in the management of hospital beds, in the efficient management of costs and patient care, family members and caregivers in a humanized way and in promoting quality in the care management. To this end, a strong control over the result is needed, seeking an improvement in the program as well as an integrated network of basic care, urgency service and reference hospitals that provide support for the maintenance and permanency of the patient at home.