The Unit for the Comprehensive Management of Patients with Heart Failure (UMIPIC) of the Internal Medicine service of the Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, a center attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, attended to more than 2,100 nursing consultations during 2021. The nursing consultation of the UMIPIC of the hospital center has been in operation since 2012. The prevalence of heart failure increases with age, treating very frequently older patients with multiple pathologies, who are normally admitted to the Internal Medicine services of hospital centers . The average age of the patients treated is approximately 80 years.
With the aim of improving care for these patients, Comprehensive Management Units for patients with Heart Failure (UMIPIC) were created at the national level, promoted by the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI). Multidisciplinary teams made up of internists and nurses participate in these units, whose participation is considered a fundamental aspect of this program.
The start-up of these units allows for a significant reduction in admissions and visits to the Emergency services. Among the tasks carried out in nursing consultations, the application of protocols created by the UMIPICs stands out, evaluating the patient’s condition through specific forms and different validated scales.
Education is also given to patients and family members on the management of this pathology, promoting self-care; the prescribed pharmacological treatment is explained, a table of physical exercise adapted to their situation is provided and other hygienic-dietary habits are encouraged.
One of the main purposes of the Nursing consultation is to improve the quality of life of patients. A close follow-up is carried out through face-to-face and telephone consultations and, soon, the video consultation will begin, as has been done recently in the Ostomy consultation of the hospital center. The objective of this initiative is to provide quality, individualized, close and human care to patients. In this way, comprehensive care is offered that allows you to improve your quality of life by making use of technology, through telecare, in a flexible and adaptable way to your needs. This is a project that contributes to promoting the line of humanization, for the benefit of patients, launched by the hospital.