Health, Fiumicelli (Dedalus): “Accelerating digitalization to modernize Italy”

“We need to accelerate the digitalisation of healthcare to modernize Italy. The quality and safety of a widespread digitalisation of health systems is an element of social cohesion because it allows a more equitable and democratic access to a better level of care. We cannot miss this opportunity to renew health care and, consequently, our country. The pandemic has taught us that health systems need to talk to each other. That it makes no sense to build walls between who owns a given and who owns another. That, on the contrary, the common good is pursued by making different systems dialogue for a common purpose “. This is the warning launched by the CEO of the Dedalus Group, the first operator in clinical-health information systems in Europe, Andrea Fiumicelli who opened “Accelerate digital health”, the event promoted in Rome in partnership with The G20 Health & development partnership. On the thrust of the pandemic – it emerged from the conference – the health sector has increased investments in digital and, more generally, expanded the digital transformation process. The pandemic uncertainty, in fact, strongly influenced the strategic priorities of the sector. According to a research presented during the event, in 2021 63% of companies plan to increase investments in technology (up by 13 points compared to last year) and 46% those in digital initiatives virtual existence (38%) and artificial intelligence systems (31%), as well as to enrich health data (30%). The digital transformation will lead healthcare companies towards a “modular” organizational model characterized, among other things, by adaptability, integration between data and applications and between industry segments. Businesses in the industry will also be more responsive, see greater collaboration across roles, and be driven by new technologies and patient experience. The meeting was an opportunity to take stock of national and international experiences, on the importance of the interoperability of clinical data. During the session dedicated to the digitization of the socio-health ecosystem, Ioana-Maria Gligor, head of Digital health unit, European Reference Network, Dg Sante European Commission, Alessio D’Amato, councilor for health of the Lazio Region, Giulio Siccardi, took part. Manager of Uoc Information Systems, Assets, Logistics and Board Management, Transparency Portal and Francesca Viviani, Gartner Digital Health Expert. Two international testimonies were then collected by Professor Michael Beyer, CEO and medical director of Augusta University Hospital, and by Professor Chris Johnson, Ccio Papworth Trust. Walter Ricciardi, as president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, Mario Plebani, president of the European Federation of Laboratory Medicine, Nicoletta Luppi, Farmindustria, Francesca De Maio, responsible for projects and actions in the field of environmental sustainability and health at Ispra , and Angela Ianaro of the Social Affairs Commission and Parliamentary Innovation Intergroup of the Chamber of Deputies, discussed the theme “One Health, a fundamental multidisciplinary approach to address health threats at the animal, human and environmental interface”. The panel thus brought together different perspectives from the point of view of industry, associations, academia and institutions. “Institutions, public, private and citizens – added Fiumicelli – are vulnerable subjects from an IT point of view. But that doesn’t have to stop us. There is a huge cultural work to be done. Together, public and private because the goal is common: the health of patients. It is not acceptable that in Italy, only 38% of the population has heard of the electronic health record, and only 12% are aware of having used it. The digitization of the socio-health ecosystem is the key to becoming stronger, as operators in the sector and as citizens. The only way to pursue a sustainability that is, at the same time, social, economic, environmental “. The conclusions of the day were entrusted to the Founder and President of Dedalus Giorgio Moretti, and to Alan Donnelly, Patron G20Hdp.