Semi Calls for Shared Psychiatric Units in Hospitals
- MADRID (May 12,2025) – Internal medicine physicians are advocating for the widespread implementation of shared assistance units in hospitals,emphasizing the critical need for collaboration between internal medicine and...
- The call to action came during the IX Shared Assistance Meeting and advisory Medicine conference.
- Laura Pérez, secretary of the GT of shared assistance and advisory medicine, highlighted the importance of shared responsibility in patient care.
Table of Contents
- Shared Assistance Units Needed in Hospitals for Integrated Care,Doctors Say
- Shared Assistance Units in Hospitals: Your Questions Answered
- What are Shared Assistance Units?
- Why are Shared Assistance Units Needed?
- How do Shared Assistance Units Work?
- What is the Benefit of Multidisciplinary Teams?
- how do Shared Assistance Units Address Mental Health Needs?
- What Conditions are often Seen in Patients with Mental Health Needs?
- why is Hospitalization Necessary for Some mental Health Patients?
- What are the challenges of managing patients with both mental and physical illnesses?
- What is the Current Availability of Shared Assistance Units?
- What is the emerging trend in psychiatric hospitals?
- How Does Internal Medicine Help in Psychiatric Hospitals?
- Key Differences: Shared assistance units in standard general hospital versus psychiatry hospitals
MADRID (May 12,2025) – Internal medicine physicians are advocating for the widespread implementation of shared assistance units in hospitals,emphasizing the critical need for collaboration between internal medicine and psychiatry to improve patient outcomes.
The call to action came during the IX Shared Assistance Meeting and advisory Medicine conference. Dr. Eduardo Montero, coordinator of the Shared Assistance Working Group and Advisory Medicine of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), stated that shared assistance offers an “effective and economically profitable way” to support specialists in managing hospitalized patients.
The importance of Multidisciplinary Teams
Dr. Laura Pérez, secretary of the GT of shared assistance and advisory medicine, highlighted the importance of shared responsibility in patient care. Speaking at a roundtable on shared assistance in psychiatry, Pérez described the model as “based on a multidisciplinary team, mutual respect, coordination, and fluid communication between the equipment involved.”
According to Pérez, triumphant implementation requires a clear agreement between specialties, explicitly defining shared responsibility through systematic protocols. Furthermore, specialists must collaborate on providing clear, precise, and tailored information to patients and their families.
Addressing Mental Health Needs
The establishment of shared assistance units is particularly crucial in mental health, where patients present with diverse conditions. Pérez noted that while each case is unique, common patterns emerge, including acute crises of underlying psychiatric conditions.
These crises frequently enough involve severe symptoms, imminent risk, and significant functional deterioration, making outpatient management impossible. Patients may experience decompensations of existing psychiatric pathology, posing risks to themselves or others. These individuals, diverse in age, gender, and socioeconomic background, frequently have co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, mood disorders, and substance abuse, as well as medical comorbidities, according to Pérez.
Hospital admission serves as a temporary measure to stabilize the acute crisis, ensure safety, conduct a thorough evaluation, and initiate or adjust treatment, enabling the individual to return to their surroundings with improved functioning.
Shared assistance between internal medicine and psychiatry is essential in this context due to the complexity of managing and monitoring these patients, who may minimize or omit clinical symptoms. Moreover, acute psychiatric decompensations can sometimes stem from undiagnosed or inadequately treated medical conditions, underscoring the need for extensive medical assessment.
Resource gaps and Future Directions
The availability of shared assistance units currently varies significantly across hospitals. “Regrettably, few general hospitals, acute, at the national level, with AC units between internal medicine and fully integrated psychiatry,” Pérez said.
However,a contrasting trend is emerging in psychiatric hospitals,particularly those specializing in chronic mental illnesses. These centers are increasingly incorporating internal medicine physicians for the joint management of cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious conditions, which are often underdiagnosed or undertreated.This specialized assessment and management by internal medicine aims to improve patients’ overall health and prognosis.
Internal medicine physicians are championing a significant upgrade in healthcare: shared assistance units within hospitals. This innovative approach to patient care focuses on collaboration between internal medicine and psychiatry. Let’s dive into teh details.
Shared assistance units are designed to foster collaboration between internal medicine and psychiatry in hospitals. These units bring together specialists from both fields to improve the care of patients, especially those with complex medical and psychiatric needs. According to Dr. eduardo Montero, these units provide an “effective and economically profitable way” to support specialists in managing hospitalized patients.
Internal medicine physicians believe that shared assistance units are vital for integrated care, which directly improves patient outcomes. the primary goal is to treat the whole patient, addressing both their medical and psychiatric needs simultaneously.
Shared assistance in hospitals relies on multidisciplinary teams. dr. Laura Pérez emphasizes that the model is “based on a multidisciplinary team, mutual respect, coordination, and fluid interaction between the equipment involved.” This means different specialists work together,sharing duty and communicating effectively to provide extensive care.
What is the Benefit of Multidisciplinary Teams?
A multidisciplinary team ensures that patients benefit from a combined expertise, leading to more holistic care. This approach helps to:
- Improve coordination between specialists.
- Ensure clear communication with patients and their families.
- Provide clear, precise, and tailored information.
Shared assistance units are especially crucial in mental health. These units help manage the diverse conditions these patients face, which can include acute crises relating to underlying psychiatric conditions and other mental illnesses.
these crises can involve:
- Severe symptoms.
- Imminent risk to the patient or others.
- Significant functional deterioration.
What Conditions are often Seen in Patients with Mental Health Needs?
Patients admitted frequently have co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses alongside medical comorbidities. Common mental health conditions include:
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- anxiety
- mood disorders
- Substance abuse
why is Hospitalization Necessary for Some mental Health Patients?
Hospital admission serves a critical role:
- Stabilizing the acute crisis.
- Ensuring the patient’s safety.
- Conducting a thorough evaluation.
- Initiating or adjusting treatment.
This process aims to help the individual return to their surroundings with improved functioning.
What are the challenges of managing patients with both mental and physical illnesses?
Managing and monitoring these patients can be complex and require shared assistance between internal medicine and psychiatry.They may:
- Minimize or omit clinical symptoms.
- Suffer acute psychiatric decompensations which can stem from undiagnosed or inadequately treated medical conditions.
This highlights the need for extensive medical assessment when managing such cases.
According to Dr. Pérez, the availability of shared assistance units varies widely. Unfortunately, “few general hospitals, acute, at the national level, [offer] AC units between internal medicine and fully integrated psychiatry.”
What is the emerging trend in psychiatric hospitals?
Psychiatric hospitals, especially those specializing in chronic mental illnesses, are increasingly incorporating internal medicine physicians.
These physicians collaborate on:
- The joint management of cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious conditions.
These conditions are often underdiagnosed or undertreated.
How Does Internal Medicine Help in Psychiatric Hospitals?
Internal medicine physicians in psychiatric hospitals focus on assessing and managing medical conditions that often coexist with mental illnesses. This specialized approach seeks to improve the patients’ overall health and prognosis by addressing the medical comorbidities that might potentially be impacting their mental health.
Here’s a summary of the differences:
| Aspect | general Hospitals (Current Status) | Psychiatric Hospitals (Emerging Trend) |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Assistance Units | Few fully integrated units. | Increasing integration of internal medicine physicians. |
| Focus | Collaboration between internal medicine and psychiatry, managing acute needs. | Joint management of medical conditions in patients with chronic mental illnesses. |
| Medical conditions Addressed | Diverse; may overlook complex medical co-morbidities. | Addressing frequently enough under-diagnosed/ undertreated: cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious conditions. |
| Aim | improve overall management of the patient. | Improve patients’ overall health and prognosis. |