Effects of transmural care on coordination and continuity of care

Although health care in The Netherlands is of a high quality with strong emphasis on primary care and high accessibility to hospital care, care deficits may arise in patients with chronic complex health problems who need the attention of several caregivers. Because no regular coordinating centre or person exists, coordination of care may be deficient leading to a poor continuity of care. This may be particularly true for those patients being cared for by both primary and hospital care teams, as is the case for most terminal cancer patients. Therefore, a transmural home care intervention programme for terminal cancer patients was introduced which intended to optimize coordination of care and thereby improve continuity of care. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of this intervention (intervention group 79 patients) on indicators of coordination and continuity of care. When compared to standard care (control group 37 patients) moderate positive effects (mainly for the nursing disciplines) on the various indicators of coordination and continuity of care by the transmural home care intervention programme were found. Future prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the effects of transmural care on these aspects of care.