Abstract
"Children with special health care needs" (CSHCN) is an emerging and heterogeneous group of paediatric patients, with a wide variety of medical conditions and with different uses of health care services. There is consensus on how to classify and assess these patients according to their needs, but not for their specific diagnosis. Needs are classified into 6 areas: a) specialised medical care; b) use or need of prescription medication; c) special nutrition; d) dependence on technology; e) rehabilitation therapy for functional limitation; and f) special education services. From the evaluation of each area, a classification for CSHCN is proposed according to low, medium, or high complexity health needs, to guide and distribute their care at an appropriate level of the health care system. Low complexity CSHCN should be incorporated into Primary Care services, to improve benefits for patients and families at this level. It is critical to train health care professionals in taking care of CSHCN, promoting a coordinated, dynamic and communicated work between different levels of the health care system. Compliance with these guidelines will achieve a high quality and integrated care for this vulnerable group of children.Los contenidos publicados en esta revista están protegidos bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0). Esto significa que cualquier persona es libre de compartir, usar y construir a partir de este artículo, incluso con fines comerciales, siempre que se otorgue el crédito apropiado al autor original, se proporcione un enlace a la licencia, se indique el nombre y edición de la Revista.
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