MILAN (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The MEDITeH Beyond International Summit (https://meditehbeyond.com/) will be held in Catania on 16 and 17 May, to mark the birth of a collaborative network dedicated to research and development in digital health, in the area of the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East.
In recent years, following the path indicated from 2017 onwards by the National Center for Telemedicine of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (CNTNT) directed by Professor Francesco Gabbrielli, Italy is developing telemedicine for the entire Italian population as a tool at the service of medicine, amplifying its purpose and potential, breaking down physical barriers determined by distance, increasing equity of access and the quality of care. Diagnosis, therapy and treatment can be increasingly facilitated by these services, with particular importance in the case of chronic and vulnerable patients, i.e. those who require constant monitoring. The potential of this technology can bring about change and support the reorganization of health services, which can be equally distributed across the territory, nationally but not only, reducing inequalities between areas where there is a greater presence of health facilities and those that are less served. All this can also be supported by the investments envisaged in the PNRR, but careful collaboration between all the stakeholders of the health system is necessary: research centres, universities, health bodies, manufacturing companies and institutions. Collaboration is the essential point to create local digital health services, but also to develop new technological solutions and advances in medicine. This collaboration must be able to expand internationally by seeking sharing, collaboration and exchange.
“MEDITeH Beyond is the first Summit that wants to promote collaboration in digital health beyond the shores of the Mediterranean and, even further, towards Africa and the Middle East. But, above all, it is the starting point of new partnerships to apply digital technologies and registers concrete progress in medicine in various countries”. This was explained by Professor Francesco Gabbrielli, professor of e-Health at the San Raffaele University of Rome and Director of the National Center for Telemedicine Guidelines-SIT, who emphasized the strategic importance of this promising international collaboration.
The two-day Summit, promoted by Diplomatia with the Health Policy Commission and the Scientific Direction led by Gabbrielli himself, will focus on the study and sharing of concrete ideas and projects from all participating countries. The first day includes, in addition to institutional greetings, an in-depth session on the evolution of biomedical sciences and a workshop to share the scenario, present and near future, on digital technologies at the service of the medical-scientific sector, with presentations by illustrious scientists and national and international professionals invited to the Summit. The discussion will address various macro-themes, highlighting the possibilities for the development of telemedicine services in the current reality and highlighting the prospects of applied research in the healthcare sector using digital technologies. The working areas will be the following: accessibility to treatment and prevention; management of major emergencies (such as, for example, pandemics, earthquakes and natural disasters); protection of chronic patients; care and rehabilitation in digital health; clinical care and research in oncology. During the working sessions, for which registered participants will be able to attend, the delegates will put forward ideas and contribute to the development of a short position paper.
“Telemedicine and medicine itself are a team game and this requires that we work to apprehend all possible differences. Collaborating with different realities allows us to visualize possible future scenarios and difficulties and prepare to respond. Italy has always been projected into the Mediterranean cultural area and, if in the last century and a half, international balances have shifted more towards the Atlantic, it is true that for millennia Italy has played a very important role in the extended Mediterranean area which includes the Middle East. And this makes us forerunners in our transatlantic European collaborations, where we bring a cultural uniqueness that few other players can boast”, said Professor Marco Manca, President and co-Founder of ScimPulse Foundation, who is also part of the scientific committee and will lead one of the discussion tables.
The general position paper that will be drawn up by the scientific committee starting from the contributions of the working groups will subsequently be disseminated publicly, as a tool to facilitate collaboration between healthcare institutions, research centers, universities and productive businesses that formally join the Summit.
MEDITeH Beyond is therefore only the first step in building a lasting collaborative network for the development of medicine through digital technology between the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East, in which Italy presents itself as a promoter and facilitator.
– Foto MEDITeH Beyond –
(ITALPRESS).
