abstract
- Background: The need to transfer patients between health institutions is an unquestionably current subject. Objective: To characterize the supervision of patients during inter-hospital transport. Methodology: Retrospective cross-sectional study. The study included 184 patients from an emergency department in the northeast region of Portugal who were transferred between hospitals under the supervision of the service’s team between November 2015 and October 2016. Results: Among the transferred patients, 58.7% were men; 33.2% were aged 71-80 years; the most common diagnosis was neurological disease (31.5%); 15.8% of them had a risk score 0-2; 45.7% a risk score 3-6; 18.5% had a risk score ≥7; and 20.1% had a risk score <7 and item scoring 2 points. They were supervised by a nurse (77.2%) or by a physician and a nurse (22.8%). Conclusion: The risk score influences the type of supervision during inter-hospital transport. Most patients with a higher risk score were supervised by a physician and a nurse.