Dutch transmural nurse clinics for chronic patients: a descriptive study.

'Transmural care' can be defined as patient-tailored care provided on the basis of close collaboration and joint responsibility between hospitals and home care organizations. One form of transmural care is transmural nurse clinics for chronically ill. This study describes 62 transmural nurse clinics in the Netherlands. It was established that most of these nurse clinics are held by a specialized community nurse at a hospital outpatient clinic. The principal tasks of the specialized nurse at the clinic are providing illness-related information and supporting patients in dealing with the illness. Only a few unpublished evaluations of Dutch transmural nurse clinics have been conducted. Future research has to provide more insight into the impact of transmural nurse clinics on the quality and continuity of care.