Italy is ageing, chronic diseases are on the rise, local medical services are a possible solution: these were the topics discussed in the UniCamillus Auditorium during the event entitled ‘Preventive Medicine, Chronic Diseases and the Community: the Community Prevention model‘.
The conference was promoted by UniCamillus, Salute e Società ODV, Tor Vergata University and the Rome Medical Board, and was moderated by Maria Elena Bonaccorso, health editor-in-chief of Italy’s leading news agency ANSA.
The conference brought together some of the most important figures in Italian healthcare, academic institutions and technological innovation sectors to discuss the most effective strategies in the management of chronic diseases and the development of a new model of community care.
An ageing country and a healthcare system in need of complete transformation
In Italy, more than 14 million people live with a chronic disease, 8.4 million of them over the age of 65. This situation calls for a complete rethinking of health policies, with greater attention to prevention and the improvement of local care. “More than half of people aged between 65 and 75 have at least one chronic disease, often diagnosed late, with significant clinical, economic and social consequences”, stressed Alessandro Boccanelli, President of Salute e Società ODV and one of the main organisers of the event. “The PREVASC (PREvenzione cardioVASColare) study has shown that 94% of people over 75 have at least one valvular defect, which is often not recognised as a health problem. There is an urgent need for a paradigm shift from treatment to prevention, promoting integrated networks of community care”.
The PREVASC study was carried out by the Italian Society of Geriatric Cardiology (SICGe) in ten small Italian towns and involved elderly people undergoing clinical and diagnostic cardiological check-ups.
The importance of prevention and community
One of the most important aspects to emerge from the conference was the need to improve community care. The President of the Rome Medical Board, Antonio Magi, stressed: “Only by strengthening the untapped potential of the community can we effectively meet the health needs of the population and adequately address the challenges of chronic disease management. According to Magi, “local medical services are the key to building a health system that is closer to the citizen, capable of integrating the hospital and the territory and promoting the protection of public health”.
On the subject of local medical services, Massimiliano Maselli, Councillor for Social Inclusion and Personal Services of the Regione Lazio, in his institutional greetings, explained how the Regional Council had recently approved a bill to include a new figure in the health services of the Regione Lazio: the Social and Health Director. “This is a completely new role that aims to make health care interact and communicate with the community. For us, it is really important to help people, especially the most vulnerable, to take the right approach to their health: it is no coincidence that special training courses are planned for this new institutional figure”. Maselli also revealed that the Lazio Region will be the first to implement, by the summer, an experimental plan to care for all frail patients over 65 and all those over 80.
The role of pharmacies in prevention
Another key theme of the conference was the growing role of pharmacies in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. “Pharmacies are evolving more and more towards a model of healthcare that is integrated into the local network,” said Alfredo Procaccini, vice-president of Federfarma. “Prevention in pharmacies means promoting healthy lifestyles, participating in screening tests to identify people at risk of chronic diseases or unaware patients, also thanks to telemedicine services. It also means monitoring ongoing pathologies, helping to reduce access to emergency rooms and improving people’s quality of life”.
Digital technologies for patient empowerment
The conference also explored how new digital technologies can promote patient empowerment and improve chronic disease management: “Today, digital health technologies can strengthen the active role of the patient and offer new opportunities for more efficient and sustainable chronic disease management, thanks to self-management tools and personalised digital therapies.
Inevitably, reference is made to artificial intelligence, which is more relevant than ever, especially in the field of healthcare. “Artificial intelligence will increase the impact of human intelligence, not by replacing it, but by doing things that humans do not do so well”, explained Marco Trombetti, CEO of Translated and co-founder of Pi Campus. “It is precisely this integration of different skills that will create new scenarios for human evolution. And in this sense, medicine is the field that can benefit the most from AI”.
The commitment of universities and the Third Mission
An important part of the event was dedicated to the role that universities can play in responding to the needs of society, with a focus on the Third Mission. “The University’s Third Mission is a concrete commitment of the University to respond to the needs of society, transforming knowledge into prevention, creating socio-economic value and promoting collaborative networks with health institutions, associations and communities”, said Donatella Padua, UniCamillus Third Mission Delegate and scientific coordinator of the conference. “The Third Mission, as an essential bridge between research, education and social impact, can take action with prevention education programmes, improving awareness and reducing diagnostic delays, with a positive impact on health and society”. Donatella Padua cited the PREVASC 2 study, which analysed elderly subjects in retirement homes, and highlighted the alarming fact that “many people over 65 find it difficult to recognise the symptoms of disease”.
This conference was an opportunity for dialogue and innovation
“At a time when health challenges are intertwined with social changes, it is essential that research, training and dialogue with the community and institutions go hand in hand,” said UniCamillus Rector Gianni Profita. “UniCamillus works every day to promote medicine that is closer to people, that can prevent, treat and innovate: this event should be a real opportunity to work together with the key figures in healthcare and innovation to find new answers to the needs of the most vulnerable people“.
The meeting was also attended by Rosaria Alvaro, Vice-Chancellor for Social Innovation Policies at Rome’s Tor Vergata University; Roberta Morandini, BSc Nursing Programme Director at Tor Vergata University; Laila Perciballi, Guarantor for the Rights of the Elderly at the Municipality of Rome; Dagmar Rinnenburger, pneumologist and author of the book ‘Cronicità’; Angela Beatrice Scardovi, cardiologist at the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome; Eleonora Selvi, President of the Fondazione Longevitas; Maurizio Zega, President of the Rome Nursing Board (OPI).
The conference was a fruitful and multidisciplinary day of exchange between professionals, institutions and innovators, with the aim of rethinking prevention and chronic care in order to respond to people’s real needs. The synergy between academia, health care and technological innovation has proven to be one of the most promising ways to address the health challenges of the future.
