Minority Diseases
¿What is?
It is a serious, rare disease.
It affects a small number of people: less than 5 out of 10,000 and about 80% are of genetic origin.
Diagnosis of rare diseases
Minority diseases are those with a low prevalence (< 5/10,000 inhabitants).
This may affect a late diagnosis due to the difficulty in conducting research.
This complexity is justified by the very low number of diagnoses, as well as the scarce financing of research projects.
It is worth mentioning the inaccessibility to specific treatments.
Also, most are genetic and hereditary, and the lack of treatment can affect the quality of life of patients and families.
Rare diseases: Accreditation of Excellence
The Spanish Society of Internal Medicine has awarded the Minority Diseases Unit of the San Cecilio Clinic in Granada
A team made up of 29 people from 18 specialties is recognized for its great professional work in patient care, training and research.
This team of professionals received the highest level of recognition, meeting all the requirements of excellence rigorously, according to the levels of demand of the SEMI certification.
Synergies between professionals
Phd. Pilar Giner, head of the Internal Medicine service, mentions that these results have been achieved thanks to the collaboration and effort of this multidisciplinary team.
For his part, Manuel Reyes, director of the San Cecilio Clinic, congratulated the entire team and shows the pride he feels for having achieved the accreditation that certifies good patient care.
The San Cecilio Clinic already has four additional certifications in the following specialties: Vascular Risk Unit (Care level)
Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit (Advanced level)
Clinical Ultrasound (Teaching level)
More than 600 consultations and more than 100 patients attended
The Minority Diseases Unit was created in 2018 to respond to patients affected by these pathologies considered rare
Since then, the volume of services has grown progressively.
It cares for patients with diagnosed minority diseases or with a high index of suspicion due to genetic or metabolic causes and each case is analyzed comprehensively.
The objective of the unit is, according to Pilar Giner, head of the Internal Medicine service at the San Cecilio Clinic, “to offer specific dedication, care adjusted to the complexity of these diseases and a multidisciplinary approach to the patient”
To do this, the specialists who make up the unit address the specific problems of each patient in order to subsequently make decisions by consensus.
These patients mostly belong to the referral area of the hospital, although the number of referrals to the unit from other health areas is growing.
Its operation of the unit is possible thanks to the coordination of the Internal Medicine service and the involvement of the 29 professionals
These belong to 18 medical specialties and other professional categories such as nursing, psychology, or pharmacy.
This joint work allows us to attend to a very varied profile of patients, since the minority diseases taken as a whole are numerous, with more than 7,000 different ones described.
Source: Hospital Clínico San Cecilio
