UICEC

The primary objective of UICEC La Paz is to establish a support infrastructure for clinical research at Hospital Universitario La Paz, aimed at promoting the health and well-being of citizens. To this end, it is equipped with human and material resources, as well as operational and functional procedures that enable the achievement of its goals:

Clinical research and its application to the development and innovation of healthcare services.
Contributing to the resolution of healthcare challenges.
Promoting participation in national clinical research activities, particularly those included in the European Framework Programmes for R&D&I.
Facilitating the transfer of clinical research findings into clinical practice.

Its extensive portfolio of services provides support to researchers in the design and implementation of studies (submission to the CEIC and Regulatory Agencies), as well as in the management, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials and research projects. It also undertakes Clinical Study Coordination tasks, assisting researchers in study preparation and feasibility assessment, administrative tasks (e.g., investigator coordination, scheduling of patient visits), preparation for audits and inspections, as well as data management and adverse reaction monitoring. Additionally, nursing tasks such as sample collection, processing, and shipment are carried out. All activities are conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.

UICEC-HULP also has a Phase I–II Clinical Trial Unit, enabling the conduct of early-phase clinical trials in both healthy volunteers and patients.

The UICEC-HULP is located in the Traumatology Building – Outpatient Consultations – Semi-Basement Floor (next to Rehabilitation) and is equipped with facilities to support clinical research, including a monitoring room, a medical consultation room, a meeting room, a laboratory/centralised sample collection point, office spaces, and a multipurpose room. The Phase I Unit has 8 hospitalisation beds and 4 patient chairs.

Any hospital researcher can apply for support in relation to clinical trials with drugs or medical devices, post-marketing studies, etc., and at any stage in this type of study (before the start of it, during implementation or after completion of the clinical phase) according to the portfolio of services from UICEC, the researcher will be given the necessary support. In addition, the facilities which UICEC has at its disposal are available to researchers at the hospital so they can perform the various activities of any study. Finally, the clinical trials unit at UICEC La Paz has the necessary infrastructures in order to perform intervention studies, both independent and commercial, requested by hospital researchers or other external sponsors.