Social Security podiatrist in Catalonia: who and how

How many podiatrist visits does CatSalut cover and what do they depend on?

The number of CatSalut podiatrist visits depends on your risk level. In the annual diabetic foot review in primary care, people with diabetes are classified into 6 risk levels, and depending on that risk between 0 and 9 podiatry visits a year are set.¹ The sources we have read do not say how many visits correspond to each level, so we do not detail it: it is determined by the review by your primary care team.

This tiered system has applied since the entry into force of a CatSalut instruction that sets the number of visits according to risk.¹ Before, the maximum was 3 visits a year.¹

Referrals made in one year and not used carry over to the next without increasing the number of annual visits.¹

To give you an idea of the size of the service: in the reference year of the article we cite it attended 148,090 people, with 336,797 visits and an average of 2.27 visits per person.¹

How to access the CatSalut podiatrist through the CAP

You reach the CatSalut podiatrist through a referral from primary care, that is, from your CAP. The process has these steps:¹

1. You have the annual diabetic foot review in primary care.
2. If there is risk, an electronic referral order is issued. It can be issued by the primary care professional, and also by the nurse.¹
3. The centre's administration processes the referral.
4. The Col·legi de Podòlegs receives the referral and you have the visit with the podiatrist.
5. The podiatrist sends a report back to your primary care team.

Your health card is enough: you do not need to bring any referral paper.¹

You choose the podiatrist freely,¹ from those on the list of the Col·legi Oficial de Podòlegs de Catalunya, with which CatSalut has agreements.¹ The CatSalut instruction provides for a podiatrist to be available in each territory.¹ The CatSalut page about the Col·legi links to this care and lists the agreement documents,³ but we have not found in any source how to consult the list of participating podiatrists. Ask at your CAP.

The service's consensus document does not provide for home visits.¹ If the care is for an older person with limited mobility, the page on geriatric podiatry has more information on that treatment.

When to seek care without waiting for the podiatrist appointment

CatSalut's podiatry care is a scheduled process, which starts with the annual diabetic foot review and continues with an electronic referral.¹ If you have diabetes and notice a wound or signs of infection in your foot, do not wait for that appointment: consult your health centre or a healthcare professional as soon as possible.

The sources of this guide describe CatSalut's coverage and process, not clinical signs. The detail of these signs, with their sources, is on the diabetic foot page. This information does not replace a consultation with a healthcare professional, who is the one who assesses your case. You can see the rest of the treatments on the podiatrists page.