[Description of the structure of and demand for a social security service for displaced persons].

We have evaluated the structure and demand of care in a Social Security center for the attention to patients out of their dwelling place during de months of July and August, 1987. We had a single office, with two doctors and one nurse and no auxiliary staff. Data were recovered from the daily morbidity sheet. There were overall 4354 visits with a daily mean of 42 patients/doctor. 63.8% attended only to repeat prescriptions, and only 1.07% justified their demands with a written report. The leading cause for medical consultation were respiratory diseases followed by dermatological diseases. Remarkably, 22.6% of consultations were not made by the patient in person. The most common type of interconsultation was the referral to the emergency room of the reference hospital. We have compared these data with other morbidity studies, and we conclude that a better attention of the administration to the clinics for patients out of their dwelling place is required. Another urgent need is the implementation of the prolonged therapy card.