The new legislation promotes the activity of home hospitalization, the development of Home Hospitalization Units (UHD) within Integrated Responsibility Centers (CRI), and the expansion of home hospitalization to all hospital establishments within the National Health Service (SNS).
All local health units (ULS) across the country have home hospitalization units, with the exception of Vila Franca de Xira and Braga.
In 2024, home hospitalization benefited from an installed capacity of 366 patient beds at home, evaluated 28,103 users, and treated 11,500 patients admitted at home.
With an average hospital stay of 9.3 days, the minister points out that 107,041 hospital admissions were spared, with home-admitted patients being referenced from 12% of emergencies, 20% of outpatient consultations, 48% of primary healthcare, and 20% of day hospitals.
The expected mortality rate decreased by 2%, and the average time spent at the patient’s home was 37 minutes, with a total of 138,323 visits conducted.
“With an efficiency rate of about 50%, this indicator underscores the need to organize the UHDs within CRIs, in order to enhance their activities and encourage the professionals who collaborate in this care delivery modality,” it is argued.
In the order, the Ministry of Health appoints Delfim Pereira Neto Rodrigues as the national coordinator of home hospitalization. He is currently the coordinator of the National Implementation Program for Home Hospitalization Units in SNS hospitals and president of the fiscal and disciplinary board of the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH).
