Padua, March 23, 2024 - The final day of the Veneto World Health Forum, marked by a series of high-level meetings and debates, dedicated to analyzing the present and future of medical sciences and technologies promising to improve the quality of life. The event, organized in Padua, saw the participation of a wide audience, including citizens, healthcare professionals, patients, and experts. It was promoted by a consortium of entities and institutions including Motore Sanità, the Veneto Region, the Municipality of Padua, the Padua Chamber of Commerce, the Cariparo Foundation, the University of Padua, Veneto Innovazione, the VIMM-Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Veneto Stable Theater, VenicePromex, and the Veneto Digital Agenda 2025.
To take the floor first during the roundtable "International OECD data on healthcare utilization and expenditure volumes," moderated by Luciano Flor, former Director General of Health for the Veneto Region, will be Claudio Zanon, Scientific Director of Motore Sanità.
"This event focuses on the need to develop a new industrial policy in the Italian pharmaceutical sector," explains Zanon. "Although Italy is the second-largest producer of pharmaceuticals in Europe, it lacks innovative molecules or devices with a strong international presence. Addressing this challenge requires a new partnership between the public and private sectors, companies, and the government to optimize the allocation of funds for research. It is essential to concentrate these resources in research centers capable of conducting translational and basic research that has a tangible impact on the territory. Furthermore, it is essential to promote innovation in all regions of the country, recognizing that innovation in healthcare is not just an expense but a true engine of economic growth in various sectors, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices."
"In our country, the dilemma of sustainability and financing of the National Health Service (NHS) – also stemming from the positive trend of population aging and the increase in chronic diseases – has become imposing mainly due to underfunding, outdated models, and personnel shortages," specifies Andrea Costa, Expert in implementation strategies of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) - Mission 6 Health, with particular reference to interventions at the territorial level, Ministry of Health. "In line with data demonstrating that the increase in per capita resources of healthcare systems does not correspond to an immediate improvement in performance, the Government, in total contrast to past decades, has demonstrated the courage to allocate additional funding to healthcare, accompanying them with medium and long-term choices to reorganize the NHS, making it suitable for a stable and continuous response to citizens' needs, optimizing the experience of access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment through the territorial and home care assistance model. Among the various actions already taken are the renewal of contracts for healthcare personnel, updating of Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), but also various policies and investments aimed at promoting technological and digital advancement of our national healthcare system, with 1.3 billion euros allocated to strengthen electronic health records, 1.5 billion euros for telemedicine, and approximately 200 million euros for investments to create national IT platforms and digital governance tools".
The World Health Forum Veneto is born with a specific purpose: to analyze the present and delve into the future of medical sciences and technologies that can improve life.
