**PATIENT CARE**

**Nephrology Consultation**
**Screening Consultation**

A nephrology screening consultation is available from Monday to Saturday at our Nephrology Center. We offer specialized medical follow-up for kidney diseases, including diagnosis and treatment of nephropathies, immunological metabolic diseases, hypertension, kidney stones, etc. The report from this consultation is sent to the patient's primary care physician.

**Follow-up Consultation for Kidney Transplant Patients**

As part of the cooperation agreement signed with transplant partners, transplant patients can benefit from follow-up consultations in alternation with the transplant center upon request.

**Patient Admission in the Dialysis Service**
**Admission**

Before the first dialysis session at the Dialysis Center of the Turin Clinic, the patient is welcomed by the secretary and/or the center manager during an interview, where they will receive this welcome booklet and the necessary admission documents, including information and consent for hemodialysis treatment. They will also be offered the opportunity to designate a trusted person and draft advance directives.

In the context of a long-term illness, we remind you that you may be eligible for disability status.

This care continues with the initial medical consultation and the creation of the medical file.

A tour of the center and/or the Medicalized Dialysis Unit (UDM) and an introduction to the care team will then be conducted.

The operation and internal regulations of the center are then specified in a written document, including the dialysis schedule.

Upon arrival, the patient must present themselves at the reception desk with the following documents:

- Social security coverage certificate if applicable
- If you are a CMU beneficiary, bring your notification
- Health insurance card
- Blood group card if available
- National ID card, residence permit, or passport
- Medical file from the original center if transferring

The medical secretary is the first contact to guide you within the service. You will be informed of the floor where you will be taken care of for your dialysis sessions. Respecting confidentiality, you can request that your presence in the establishment not be disclosed to external parties by notifying the reception upon arrival.

**Admission of Vacationing Patients**

The center welcomes vacationing patients for short or long stays depending on available slots.

A request by fax or email must be made at least 3 weeks in advance. The necessary documents to provide are:

- Social security coverage certificate if applicable
- Health insurance card
- Blood group card if available
- National ID card or residence permit
- Medical file from the original center with dialysis modalities

For patients outside the European community, a quote will be faxed or sent by email for information before agreeing to the stay. It is also necessary to provide their home address and the address of their stay in Paris.

**Schedules**

Dialysis schedules are spread over 3 cycles: morning, afternoon, and evening, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Note that dialysis schedules and days may change based on your health condition or service needs, and the station and floor are not permanently assigned. Moreover, evening slots will preferably be allocated to working individuals.

**The Dialysis Session**

For the comfort of our patients, the treatment rooms offer each patient a motorized bed or chair, a flat-screen TV with personal headphones, internet access, and the space can be air-conditioned. Clean and suitable attire for dialysis is recommended (jogging or pajamas). For KT carriers, a shirt is highly recommended to facilitate access. All necessary bedding during dialysis sessions is provided by the Clinic and is single-use. An appropriate snack for different diets is served to patients during their dialysis.

**Diabetology Consultation**

As part of the continuous follow-up of dialysis patients, a diabetology consultation provided by an endocrinologist has been established for diabetic patients at the center upon their arrival and then as needed every 3 or 6 months. These consultations take place on-site before, during, and after dialysis sessions. Patients can be accompanied by a relative. The consultation report is sent to the primary care physician and added to the patient's electronic file.

**Dietary Consultation**

Each patient receives a dietary consultation upon arrival and within the following 3 months, then as needed, based on the nephrologist's and care team's assessment.

**Service Staff Meetings**

Once a week, a staff meeting is organized within the service. These are meetings between the medical, paramedical team, and certain professional managers of the establishment to discuss patient care topics. Occasionally, external representatives such as laboratories are invited to participate.

**Specialized Therapeutic Education Program**

The Turin Clinic offers a Therapeutic Education Program for renal failure patients (dialyzed or non-dialyzed). Patient and family education sessions are organized twice a month. Topics covered include:

1. Vascular Access: Monitoring, best practices, compression
2. Diet: Potassium, Phosphorus, Fluid restriction
3. Therapeutic compliance
4. Prioritizing emergencies, who to contact: Vital emergency, Vascular emergency
5. Transplantation: Various exams to be done, Why registration, Managing waiting stress