[Nutritional support in cooperation with home medical care clinic and home visiting nursing].

There is a tendency that home care has been promoted as an alternative way to shorten the duration of hospital stay and to reduce a medical cost. But the Japanese reimbursement system has not been established enough to cover home medical care. The system and technique to carry out home nutritional care has almost established, but has not been spread yet. Hospitals have several choices to carry out home nutritional care: a patient cares his nutritional support by himself, a help provided by a home visiting nurse and a request from hospital to home medical care clinic. In order to carry out home medical care safely and successfully, it is important to communicate with a home visiting nurse as well as home medical care clinic before a patient leaves the hospital.