The doctor of the future? Half clinical and half engineer, ‘medtech’ challenge

The gown, the stethoscope, patience in listening to patients, but also artificial intelligence, robotics, big data and cybersecurity. The suitcase of the doctor of the future is enriched with new skills and professionalism to face the challenges of an expanding sector: medtech. The experts present in Rome at the conference ‘Medtech, present future, universities and businesses design tomorrow’, organized by Campus Bio-Medico University under the patronage of Unindustria, outline what the doctor of tomorrow will look like in 7 points. The Bio-Medico Campus has also announced the launch of two new degree courses in English: ‘Medicine and Surgery Medtech’ and ‘Biomedical Engineering’. “There are 7 characteristics that the doctor of tomorrow will have to have to operate in hospitals, biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and in research centers”, highlighted the speakers. Here are the points: hybridization of knowledge, for the health and well-being of the patient; open minded, to contribute to the technological solutions of tomorrow; transversality, for overcoming traditional professional boundaries; flexibility, ability to operate in hospitals and in medtech companies; 100% medical, able to follow the patient on a clinical and human level; 100% engineering training, to better manage diagnosis and therapies with machinery; ability to manage the patient’s ethical problems deriving from the presence of modern technologies. “In a healthcare ecosystem that will increasingly put the patient at the center through biomedical research, digital transformation, telemedicine, the territory and new technologies applied to diagnostics and prevention – the experts stressed – hospitals and biomedical and pharmaceutical companies they seek in new doctors figures with knowledge between traditional medicine and biomedical engineering to develop new treatments, create devices and machinery “. Today the medtech sector represents the future of healthcare: stimulated by the pandemic, it has also grown in 2020 and has development prospects throughout the planet. In Italy, medtech generates a market worth 16.2 billion euros, divided between 4,546 companies that employ 112,534 employees (source Confindustria medical devices 2022). “Today we are faced with the rapid development of personalized medicine: the doctor, the research system and the organization of the health system have to deal with the technological capabilities that have an ever-increasing role – said Raffaele Calabrò, rector of the Campus Bio University. – Doctor of Rome – Today in medicine we no longer speak generically about pathologies, but we have the opportunity to know the problems of the individual patient, and technology becomes fundamental in this. The doctor of tomorrow must be trained to work with new technologies, the pandemic has accelerated this trend. A university such as the Campus Bio-Medico of Rome proposes itself as one of the places in which to bring together doctors and companies to create research and innovation for the patient and for the progress of the health system. degree programs aim to train the doctor of the future “.” We are called to discuss the future of health professionals and the future of health care – he remarked ato Silvio Brusaferro, president of the Higher Institute of Health – This pandemic has shown us the importance of the National Health Service, thanks to which we are facing this emergency. For the future we are called to think about how to strengthen the health service starting from the relationship between the professional and the person, intercepting the need for health and trying to respond in the best possible way. Alongside this there is the technology that supports us and today shows enormous development capacities: technology interacts with humans and this interaction must be studied and understood even better even by doctors and health professionals themselves “.” Doctors can become figures crucial in the growth of the medtech sector – assured Maria Chiara Carrozza, president of the National Research Council (Cnr) – The development of innovative technologies and approaches in the biomedical field requires first of all the identification of the most urgent needs. The definition of the characteristics of the pathologies to be corrected and of the affected population groups. Clinical validation and follow-up. The figure of the doctor, and even more of the medical researcher, is therefore fundamental in this process “.” The doctor of the future will have to develop new skills, especially in digital – said Massimo Scaccabarozzi, past president of Farmindustria – Therapy becomes a process thanks to to a technology that innovates quickly and to a medicine that is increasingly moving towards personalized treatments, tailored for the patient and on him. And drugs are no longer ‘just’ a product, but part of this process, combined with devices, diagnostics, medtech. This is why degree courses such as Medtech of the Bio-Medico Campus will play a fundamental role. In fact, they will allow students to integrate design and technological skills, today increasingly multidisciplinary and transversal, to guide the innovation processes typical of the life sciences sectors. And the figure of the biomedical engineer can be of great help to the pharmaceutical industry both for the development of new products, services and technologies, and for the birth of new companies in the sector “.” Life sciences are today the protagonists of the revolution that medicine is experiencing – Massimiliano Boggetti, president of the National Technology Cluster Life Sciences Alisei recalled – thanks to the skills of professionals who work in technology parks, research centers, companies, but also doctors who collaborate in the design and evolution of increasingly advanced and patient-friendly products and drugs. The new European regulations also go in this direction: clinical trials will be more numerous, consequently collaboration between doctors and the private sector will be encouraged. Today the PNRR gives us a great opportunity: to stimulate public-private partnership and industry is finally considered an enabling factor for public research. All this is possible if collaboration between doctors, industry, universities, research and technology transfer centers is stimulated, enhancing the territories and excellence and favoring the creation of networks capable of attracting investments in the country’s districts. We hope not to miss this opportunity “.