Interview with: Pierangelo Pareo, UNITE Project Coordinator for Regione Lombardia

This article is part of the “Behind the Scenes” series, in which the UNITE project partners introduce themselves and explain how they will contribute to the transformation of European healthcare.

What motivated you to join the UNITE project, and how does it align with your personal or professional goals?

Participation in the UNITE project represents an opportunity to engage in a regional multilateral collaboration and gain a better insight of the different R&I ecosystems. This could provide relevant inputs when planning dedicated innovation and investment strategy at regional level. Joining the UNITE project we can create new joint solutions on healthcare and digital health, we can collaborate with experts and selected startups.

Moreover we will contribute to gain a better knowledge of the sector and additional skills that might be replicated in other projects or activities in the future. The UNITE project will allow us to strengthen the relationships with the different actors of the quadruple helix, to contribute to the development of innovative regional policies and programs that can attract investors and it can help to improve a strong cutting-edge healthcare system that is able to manage the treat chronic conditions and emergencies. We have access to all infrastructure, technical equipment and resources sponsored by national and regional governments.

We aim to improve our knowledge in the field of healthcare innovation and technological progress, having the opportunity to strengthen our experience of collaboration with universities, research centers and foundations.

Can you tell us about your team's expertise and how it contributes to UNITE's mission of transforming healthcare through digital innovation?

What are the most pressing healthcare challenges in your region, and how do you believe the UNITE project will address them?

The main challenges in the healthcare field of the Lombardy Region are:

• Guaranteeing the sustainability of the healthcare system due to the increase in life expectancy and the growth of the population over 65;
• Ensuring greater accessibility to basic health services and prevention;
• Improving the digitalization of the system: development of new skills necessary for the use of these tools both by healthcare professionals, through adequate training programs, and by patients and caregivers through support services and Help Desk;
• Improving the procurement & innovation of medicines and healthcare devices.

With the Unite project, the Lombardy Region can undertake actions as of:

• Improving the quality of life of patients, including aspects related to rehabilitation, as well as measures to facilitate social integration and reintegration into work;
• Improving the preventive medicine through early identification, improving access to diagnostics and its quality;
• Improving the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, through actions aimed at offering better integrated and complete care, as well as correcting inequalities in access to high-quality treatments and medicines;
• Mapping the emergency situation at EU level, fostering greater coordination and response capacity;
• Strengthening the emergency preparedness and response mechanisms through the sharing of data and treatment parameters on a large scale.

How do you ensure that ethical considerations and patient privacy are prioritized in the development of new healthcare technologies?

We need a concrete and correct application of the principles of 'Privacy by design' and 'Privacy by default', provided for pursuant to art. 25 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). The protection of data and the protection of its processing must also become the target for those who design the systems and devices used in the healthcare sector, even before those who will use them. Rationalization in the collection of data which provides for a coherent path for them is fundamental, in order to make them available in different quantities and with differentiated methods, also in light of the different purposes and levels into which the healthcare organization is divided. In compliance with the DPIA, Data Protection Impact Assessment, the data controller of personal data must ensure a careful assessment of the risks associated with the processing of sensitive patient data. In fact, an ex-ante provision of security measures is needed to demonstrate not only compliance with the law but also and above all to avoid cases of data breach or illicit data processing.

How do you plan to engage with other consortium partners to ensure the smooth implementation of innovative solutions across regions?

Active involvement of relevant key players, including end users and multidisciplinary knowledge are necessary to accomplish the project’s objective. We are willing to discuss and collaborate with other consortium partners to find ways to identify the actors who can quickly implement innovative solutions, identify the institutions that can respond clearly to the research results for these purposes:

• Monitoring of activities;
• Engaging collaborative scientific consultancy activities;
• Coordinating studies aimed at monitoring the effectiveness and safety of vaccines;
• Disseminating results ready for practice through the existing dissemination channels most consulted by (end) users;
• Facilitating the multi-actor involvement process using the most appropriate methods and skills;
• Facilitating the cross-fertilization of skills, competences and ideas between different actors to generate innovative results and solutions that are more likely to be applied on a large scale;

The actors must be an active part of the project and not just stakeholders, guiding its development right from the needs analysis phase and throughout the project process, up to the dissemination of the results.

How do you plan to involve local stakeholders, such as healthcare providers or policymakers, in the success of UNITE?

Collaboration between the different actors is the key for the efficient use of resources and for guaranteeing a rapid and precise implementation of the different possible solutions. The objective is to build working groups that allow positive moments of discussion to be opened. To Strengthen, through Federeted Innovation MIND and its 3 key Anchor Institutions (the University of Milano Statale, the Galeazzi Research Hospital and the Human Technopole), the relations with parties interested in the 4-helix in the life sciences sectors and contribute to their competitiveness with the other European partners. The foreseen event will be: The MIND Innovation Week is an annual festival organized in May in the unique setting of the MIND - Milan Innovation District involving a wide audience working in academic world, entrepreneurs and third sector organizations, up to local communities.

The final goal is to actively involve universities, research centers and hospitals together with 4-helix large companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries (Accenture, Alira Health, Astrazeneca, Bio4Dreams, Bracco, Medtronic, Nippon Gases, Novartis, Roche, Sapio Life, Stevanato, Synlab, UCB Pharma, E4Life) with the purpose to offer more opportunities for technology development and networking to companies in the sector, supporting their interactions with external players, engaging in the RDI activities and providing specific support services to accelerate RDI processes.