A benchmark in Alicante for complex patients: How the Internal Medicine Service at Quirónsalud Torrevieja works

In a healthcare landscape increasingly shaped by chronic conditions, multimorbidity and growing clinical complexity, Internal Medicine is playing an ever more important role. In this context, the Internal Medicine Service at Quirónsalud Torrevieja Hospital has established itself as a benchmark in private healthcare in Alicante, thanks to a care model based on a holistic view of the patient.

Unlike approaches focused on individual diseases, internists assess patients by considering all their conditions, treatments, lifestyle habits and risk factors together. This comprehensive approach makes it possible to tailor clinical decisions to each person’s real situation, improve outcomes and enhance quality of life—particularly for patients with multiple health issues.

Led by Dr Asunción Gonzálvez Gasch, the service holds a strategic position within the hospital. Its role extends beyond the care of inpatients with complex conditions, also playing a key part in outpatient clinics, where cases with difficult diagnoses or multiple coexisting diseases are assessed. This dual function reinforces the internist’s role as a central figure in the care pathway.

Internists coordinate care, connect different specialties and ensure that all medical decisions are aligned with the patient’s overall condition. In practice, this model prevents fragmented care, reduces duplication and improves clinical efficiency—especially important in highly complex patients.

One of the defining strengths of Internal Medicine is its integrative approach. Rather than focusing on a single organ or disease, the internist provides a comprehensive view of the patient’s health. This is essential in a reality where patients increasingly present with multiple chronic conditions at the same time.

The most commonly managed conditions include cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious and metabolic diseases, as well as disorders linked to chronicity. Particular emphasis is placed on the management of metabolic syndrome—a major current challenge in medicine—which encompasses factors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, all associated with increased cardiovascular risk.

This global perspective allows not only for the treatment of each condition, but also for understanding their interrelationships, preventing serious complications and establishing safe, effective and realistic therapeutic priorities.

The service also stands out for its international reach. Due to the hospital’s location and the demographics of its surrounding area, it provides care to a large number of international patients, particularly from across Europe. Adapting communication and clinical approaches to this multicultural environment enables personalised care, fostering trust and ensuring continuity—especially for patients with complex or long-term conditions.

Technology is another key pillar. The hospital is equipped with advanced diagnostic tools, including 1.5 Tesla MRI, multi-slice CT, PET-CT, nuclear medicine imaging, advanced ultrasound and highly specialised laboratories. The combination of these resources with the internist’s clinical judgement enables fast, accurate and tailored diagnoses, particularly in complex or hard-to-interpret cases.

The care model is further strengthened by a multidisciplinary approach. Close collaboration with specialties such as cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology, oncology and infectious diseases ensures coordinated care, with the internist acting as the clinical lead.

This coordinating role is especially valuable when multiple conditions coexist, when there is no clear diagnosis, or when chronic patients experience decompensation requiring hospital admission. In such cases, Internal Medicine helps prioritise care, streamline treatments, avoid unnecessary interventions and ensure a coherent, personalised approach centred on the patient.

In short, the Internal Medicine Service at Quirónsalud Torrevieja Hospital has become a cornerstone of modern hospital care. Its comprehensive approach, strong coordination and advanced technological support enable it to provide effective responses in highly complex clinical situations, consolidating its position as a benchmark in private healthcare in Alicante.