[Care of the population not registered at an urban health center].

OBJECTIVE

To find the work-load involved in caring for a displaced part of the population and its social/health characteristics.

DESIGN

Descriptive study lasting a year.

SETTING

General medical clinics at an urban Primary Care Centre in Alcorcón (Madrid).

PATIENTS

Those users over 14 not registered at the Centre who were attended by the General Practitioners and nursing staff during the study period.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

During the sampling days 263 non-registered patients were attended in on-demand medical consultations, this being 5.58% of the total. 301 home notices were sent out during the year, of which 12.95% were generated by displaced patients. The medical consultations by appointment for this group were 2.3% of the total within the Centre and 15.3% at home. There were no significant differences between the registered and displaced populations regarding the number of referrals to laboratory, radiology or specialists. 21.86% of nurses' pre-arranged home visits were due to the follow-up of displaced patients. The patients in our sample were mostly elderly (82.4%), women (68.6%) and staying for extended periods within our catchment area. A third of them attended for bureaucratic reasons (prescriptions). 58.23% of the remaining consultations were due to chronic pathologies. 18.07% brought with them medical reports or long-treatment booklets.

CONCLUSIONS

Caring for the non-registered population causes a considerable work-load for the Primary Care team, both because of the number of people and their social/health characteristics. It should be made a requirement that the patient brings medical reports when he/she moves from their customary residence.